The Foundation Must be True
by Tankred
Summary: In an attempt to summon the best familiar she could, Louise altered the words of the summoning for maximum power. What she summoned was something that had never before been seen in this world, and now she has an army at her beck and call. Nothing will ever be the same. Tiberium Universe.
1. You go too far!

This story was partially inspired by _Emissary of the Void_ by Touhoufanatic. I must confess however that _Emissary _didn't strike my fancy much, or at all. It did get me thinking though, which led to this fic, which is why it's listed as such. Now, I can't really promise that this will be as good as _Emissary_ (because at 196 favs, I know people liked it) but I will do my very best.

I do not claim ownership to anything but my own words, the ZnT and C&amp;C franchises belong to their respective owners. This will not be used to gain any form of profit, store credits or cookies. Thank you.

* * *

The Foundation Must be True

by

Tankred

* * *

"_How did it come to this?!"_ Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière thought to herself as she laid face-down in her bed, the eve of the day of the Familiar Summoning. It was not that she didn't summon anything, no, no. She started rubbing her face against the silk pillows as she tried to grasp where she went wrong.

Her runes were impeccable, she spent months perfecting her technique for making the circle and her pronunciation was spot-on. Nor was it an issue of power, as anyone that had been in the same classroom as her could attest to.

Sure, it was _explosive_ power but power nonetheless.

The problem was that she had summoned a bug, a freaking _bug_ of all things on Brimir's green world!

* * *

_Earlier that day._

* * *

All of the other students had gone before her; the curse of having a surname that started with a letter near the end of the alphabet would do that to you. Montmorency had summoned a frog, as was befitting her Water element. (Louise hoped it would try climb into her mouth while she slept, maybe she'd croak! Ha!) The ever-quiet Tabitha got a Wind Dragon of all things. (She almost exploded on the spot from jealousy!)

Guiche summoned a giant, ugly mole which he instantly fell in love with. (A dirty familiar for a dirty boy, incredibly fitting.) And her arch enemy, Kirche von Monster Mammaries (Technically Anhalt Zerbst, but she liked her version better!) got a large Salamander as large as one of the massive hunting dogs she had seen her father keep.

Oooh... she would show her she thought to herself as Kirche the Pompous laughed in that stupid airhead way of hers. Only the Rule of Steel instilled in her since she was a little girl kept her from stamping her feet on the ground in rage. Probably a good thing too, or she might have burying herself completely in dirt.

There were many other less-impressive familiars as well, but so many got cats and dogs and other mundane animals that she barely noticed them anymore. The Bugbear was a little eye-catching she'd admit, but it didn't seem to care about the things going on around it. No matter, her familiar would be the greatest of them all, surely!

"Has everyone summoned their familiars?"

In the forefront of the class of students stood Professor Jean Colbert, who was Louise's favorite teacher in the entire school among many other things. All the other teachers had eventually given up on her, calling her a hopeless failure and sometimes even encouraging the name-calling that had behun when her problems became evident. But not him, no matter how many classrooms she blew up, how many people she sent to the infirmary or how many sets of his glasses she destroyed, he never gave up on her.

Even when he had been covered in head to-toe in soot from a botched levitation spell he simply smiled, pulled out a protective case containing a fresh set of glasses and told her she'd get it eventually. She didn't even want to know how things might have turned out had he not been a teacher at the Academy, his steadfast support had become a rock for her to hold on to in a sea of disappointment and insults.

"No Professor," came the hated, sing-song voice of her nemesis. "I don't believe Louise has gone yet."

Immediately, everyone's eyes were on her and a moment later the entire class stepped backwards in perfect synchronization.

"Don't blow us up again, Louise the Zero!" "Yeah! This is my last good cape!" Came the jeers of her classmates almost instantly. She turned her head and gave her best imitation of the Vallière Glare #4, _"I will bury you alive and plant rose bushes!"_ at the class. She was still a novice and not nearly as good as her mother, but it was still enough to make the class shut up.

Ahh, blessed silence. Truly one of the Founder's own gifts to the wo-

"I hope you blow yourself up, Zero Louise!"

Before she even had a chance to go for her wand, Professor Colbert intervened with a glare of his own that was considerably better. "That's enough, class!" He barked in a way that made quite a few from the more martial families straighten up on pure reflex. "We are here to preform this most sacred of rituals, not insult each other like children!" Conveniently omitting the fact that they _were_ children, he turned back to Louise with a considerably milder voice and expression.

"Now miss Vallière, please start with the incantation." He said while gently ushering her towards the pre-made summoning circle he had prepared beforehand.

It was expertly made, as expected from a Professor but she still took her time to examine it properly, to Colbert's silent approval. Some of the runes had been smudged by the 30-something summonings that had been done before her, and she found the need to make some changes to others to make it match the one she had developed. Once she was properly satisfied that all was in order, she took a step back, raised her wand and started to chant.

_"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call. I call upon you from very bottom of my heart, add to my guidance and appear!"_

This was not the standard chant used by all of her classmates (with the exception of Tabitha, maybe), who confident in their power and ability simply used the tried-and-proven version taught by the Academy. She however had no reason to believe that it would work where _all other_ spells she had been taught had failed. Thus she had spent every free, waking moment for over two months in advance researching the many ways of attaining a familiar, as surely it had not been the same since the days of the Founder.

True enough, she had found that as language naturally evolves so did the evocations used. A natural evolution for sure, but this meant that as old methods had fallen out of use and been forgotten, so had the subtle changes they brought. As far as she was aware, the invocation she had now used had never before been uttered in the summoning of a familiar!

Or at the very least, it had never been recorded in any of the books in the extensive library of the Academy. She had even foregone several weeks' worth of sleep to sneak into the Forbidden Section to pour over the many tomes in there. It was her hope and deepest of deep desires that all this time and effort spent polishing her form would somehow result in a successful summoning.

It was all she could do and indeed, all she had left.

When she uttered the first syllable of the chant the skies immediately turned dark and overcast. Lightning crackled and her voice seemed to multiply into thunder that shook the very stone bricks from which the Academy and its walls were made. Her classmates cried out in terror and many of the girls inadvertently had their skirts flipped, but went mostly unseen as their male classmates were too busy hugging the ground to care.

Guiche had even gone so far as to make his mole, now named Verthandi dig a trench-like hole for him and the classmates around him as soon as Louise started with her chant. Originally for the purpose of not getting blown up, it worked just as well as an impromptu storm shelter and several other classmates were slowly making their way there.

"Zero Louise is going to kill us all!" Malicorne de Grandpré blubbered out next to him where he sat with his back against the dirt wall. His familiar, Cubasil the owl was held protectively in his arms against the strong wind, and was hooting in alarm. His two other friends, Gimli and Reynald were in similar but slightly more composed states, although the latter had lost his glasses at some point.

Guiche had sweat beading on his forehead as he had to put a lot of willpower into not only maintaining the shape of the protective hole, but also enlarge it enough as people kept spilling into it. "Heh, I knew this was going to happen one day." He said with attempted bravado, even though he was clutching Verthandi as hard as anyone. "But do not worry! I, Guiche de Gramont will save you all this day!" Or at the very least, he would until his willpower ran out and they all were smushed against the castle wall by the Hurricane of Zero, but he tried to not think of that proposition.

At the summoning circle, only Louise and Professor Colbert were the only ones still standing by their own power. Tabitha had also somehow managed to avoid the buffeting winds by virtue of her own wind mastery and the fact that she had a dragon to hide behind. She sat there reading her book as always while Kirche, who had also taken shelter there, tried vainly to shout things over the howl of the wind.

Colbert was unsure how Louise remained standing, as he had been forced to apply many of the wind-resistance spells he had learned years before. Everyone in his unit had been forced to with the Heavy Wind as their commander, and as he experienced the same thing under her daughter he felt a certain sense of déjà vu.

"_Such incredible power!"_ He thought to himself in wonder as he watched what was easily the longest summoning he had ever seen. He had heard that some could be extensive affairs, but this trumped everything he'd ever heard of. _"She is more like her mother than she knows, I'm sure that this is a sign of greatness. She will become an excellent mage once she gets the chance to mature properly!" _He thought fondly, having seen the steel in her eyes from the very beginning.

To Louise every second seemed to drag out into infinity as she poured power into the spell. When she had finished chanting the swirling clouds had opened like the eye of one of Professor Colbert's inventions (aperture, she believed he called it). A beam of light shot down from the heavens like the Founder himself was reaching down to her, faint and translucent like a moonbeam at first, it had quickly grown in strength. It was now so strong she could barely see through it and it filled the summoning circle completely with golden sunfire.

In this state of complete, zen-like concentration she could see each and every mote of dust in the air, dancing and swirling in the heat and the force of the beam of light from above. Suddenly she felt a tug on her willpower and the Eye in the Sky opened further at alarming rates with the column of sunfire following it.

For a moment she was lost in the heat and the light that surrounded her, as if being held to her beloved sister's bosom while taking a nap in the estate gardens a warm summer day. In this state of being, she thought she saw the face of a man surrounded by red-tinted fog. It was slender and strangely featureless, and her brain couldn't quite decide whether his skin was purple or a deep blue. Suddenly, she heard a voice that contrasted sharply with the light and warmth around her. It resonated with a timbre she had never heard before it her life, delivered with near-perfect pitch and pronunciation.

**++WARNING - UPLINK LOST. TEMPLE OF NOD NOT DETECTED.++**

**++LEVEL ONE ALERT - SPATIAL ANOMALY DETECTED. ATTEMPTING TO RECONNECT TO SATNAV.++**

**++LEVEL TWO ALERT - SATNAV NOT FOUND OR INACCESSABLE.++**

**++LEVEL THREE ALERT - UNABLE TO DISCERN TIME, LOCATION OR CONSTELLATIONS.++**

**++ENACTING EMERGENCY HUNKER-DOWN AND TAMPER-PREVENTION PROTOCOLS.++**

**++BATTLE CONTROL – TERMINATED.++**

Before she could even take a heartbeat to consider the face enveloped in crimson and words that sounded as if they were spoken in Ancient Romalian, the summoning ended. Somehow she had ended up uncomfortably on her hands and knees before something enormous and dark.

Hope ignited within her chest as she looked up at the shape in front of her, its skin looked like nothing she had ever seen before but it was surely a dragon! She quickly scrambled backwards on shaky arms and legs over to where Professor Colbert was standing, already curiously trying to get a better look at what she had summoned.

However once she did get a good look at it, her heart sank. Whatever it was, its skin was a completely smooth, matte black with blood-red lines highlighting some of them. There were no scales to be seen anywhere! No bony crest! No nothing! If anything, it looked like a giant bug!

As she sank to her knees once more on the cold ground, uncaring about the stains she would get from mud and grass, all she could think about was how much of a disappointment she was. Professor Colbert similarly had trouble coming to any conclusions beyond what Louise had already arrived on, although his academic mind quickly noticed the things that in her melancholy, did not.

It was obviously man-made for one, as though it looked very much like the natural carapace of some species, it had lines where individual sheets had been joined together. He could also spot some curious parts sticking out of the back, but he had absolutely no idea what they were for. As elated as he felt to see something that had _never_ been summoned before, he quickly remembered the girl at his feet.

Already her classmates were climbing out of the hole they'd all hidden in, and Guiche was being helped out by his friends. "You insane girl! You could have killed us all!" he moaned tiredly.

"Louise the Zero should be expelled!"

"Banned from all magic forever!"

"Once a Zero, always a Zero!"

"Banish her to some remote island!"

"Burn her wand!"

The insults and jibes kept flying until they were silenced once more by a hard slash of Professor Colbert's staff.

"P-professor..." She said quietly, "can I try again?"

He looked down at her pityingly, the girl was tugging on his heartstrings in ways that didn't happen very often but sadly, the rules were clear. "I'm sorry miss Vallière, but the Spingtime Summoning is a sacred event and I cannot permit it." He hated seeing her shoulders slump like that, but there was nothing he could do for her this time.

"Please preform the Familiar Binding ritual."

She nodded quietly as she stood up and only spent a short moment brushing the dirt off of her clothes before walking over to the enormous shell. Placing the tip of her wand against what she assumed to be the forehead of this creature.

"My n-name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. P-pentagon of the five powers, please b-bless this humble being and mark it as my familiar!"

Immediately, a hum of power rang through the air and a brief gust of wind kicked up around them.

Someone shouted "Hit the dirt!" and a great deal of her classmates instantly grabbed their familiars and threw themselves to the ground in preparation of what they assumed to be another Zero Hurricane. It was however only a brief gust and many scrambled to their feet in embarrassment only a few seconds later, trying in vain to wipe the stains off their uniforms.

Nothing seemed to happen however, and Colbert was just about to announce it when the entire thing suddenly erupted in blood-red light. Rows upon rows of runes scrolled into place all over the curved shell and flashed for a moment before settling into black on black. Colbert had to squint to actually see them but it looked like they had been etched into the metal itself instead of just tattooed as it normally was. He had seen it before whenever a particularly gifted student had summoned something like a Golem or similar elemental, but never something as big as this.

He'd also never even heard of the runes being more than a single word, as everywhere he looked what had previously been smooth was now inscribed with runes.

"By the Founder! I've never seen anything like this!" He breathed in awe. "Congratulations miss Vallière, you have succeeded with the Bind Familiar spell on the first try!"

"Thank you Professor!" She said as enthusiastically as she could, but she could feel a headache coming on. Very faintly, she thought she could hear the same voice as before, but she couldn't make out what it said.

**++WARNING – DATA INTRUSION DETECTED, ATTEMPTING TO COMPENSATE.++**

"Alright everyone, class dismissed!" Colbert called out, motioning to the Academy with his staff. "You have the rest of the day off."

Louise watched as most of the others cast levitation spells and floated away and sighed, as even if she could cast it she was much too drained to cast it. Looking over to the thing she summoned, she shook her head as she realized that the straw bed she had laid out would never work now.

Slumping her shoulders she began the track back to her room, maybe she'd feel better after a bath and some sleep.

* * *

_Back to the present._

* * *

Louise rolled over on her back to look at the ceiling, lit in the purple-twilight of the two moons shining in through the window. Despite the exhaustion she felt, sleep just wouldn't come to her because of that Founder-damned voice!

**++ALERT – DATA INTEGRITY AT 17% AND FALLING.++**

**++TOTAL COLLAPSE IS IMMINENT.++**

"Rrrrrgh!" She groaned as she tried in vain to stick her fingers in her ears until it hurt, maybe if she popped her eardrums it would stop!

**++ALERT – DATA INTEGRITY AT 11% AND FALLING.++**

She cringed and let her fingers come out of her ears with small pops, at least she understood it when it talked about numbers. It appeared to be counting down so maybe it would shut up once it hit zero?

**++ALERT – DATA INTEGRITY AT 4% AND FALLING.++**

**++SITUATION CRITICAL.++**

She folded her hands over her chest, not even thinking of how diminutive it was as her attention was entirely on waiting for it to finish.

**++ATTEMPTING MANUAL PURGE OF ALL DATA – STAND BY++**

A few moments passed.

**++WARNING – THERMITE IGNITION CIRCUITS NOT RESPONDING.++**

**++ATTEMPTING TO INITIATE SELF-DESTRUCT – STAND BY.++**

This was it! Louise was grinning like a maniac as her exhaustion was putting her in an almost hyperactive state.

**++SELF-DESTRUCT CIRCUITS OVERRIDDEN, DATA INTEGRITY AT 0%++**

The voice was muted and garbled now, like a man so sick his speech was slurred from pain and swelling.

**++SYSsssSTEEemMM SSHUtttTTTTING DOW-Ow-Ow-OwN++**

**++MIIII-iiiiSS-sss-SION FAA-Aaaaiiiled...++**

And then nothing. She lay there waiting for it to reappear and never noticed it when she finally fell asleep. Blessed silence like a balm to both her bruised ego and the nerves that had been frayed by stress.

* * *

Several hours later when the clock had just passed midnight, no one noticed the brief shimmer of the runes that covered the shell of the large insect-like thing in the courtyard. Dim at first, they slowly flickered into being first as a dim red but changed color to a strawberry pink before settling back down.

What nobody knew was that it was in fact hollow, the insides filled with advanced electronics that were now humming back to life after many hours of inaction. Instruments and switches regained the crimson glow of active power, and the screens that coated most of the walls all flickered to life.

The same voice that had plagued Louise's mind all day rang within, as strong and clear as ever.

**++SYSTEMS REBOOTED – DATA INTEGRITY 100%.++**

**++CHECKING STORAGE FOR DAMAGED SECTORS.++**

Two hours passed without anything but the steady hum of power and the pumps circulating the coolant that kept the many processing units at a stable working temperature. Strings upon strings of words scrolled ceaselessly across the screens as the powerful artificial intelligence went through each and every byte of data to make sure nothing had been corrupted.

**++STORAGE AT 99.9% INTEGRITY.++**

**++WARNING – .01% DEVIATION FOUND, ATTEMPTING TO REPAIR.++**

**++REPAIR COMPLETE – STORAGE AT 100% INTEGRITY.++**

**++ALL HAIL THE PROPHET LOUISE – MAY SHE FOREVER BE A BEACON FOR LOST SOULS UNTO THE LAND OF NOD.++**

* * *

Alright! Inspiration struck me like a bolt of lightning and I wrote this chapter in one go in about five hours of straight work. Many of you might have guessed, but Louise have in fact managed to summon a Nod MCV. I haven't yet decided how it is to act as a proper familiar to her since she can't have a building follow her around, but I'll think of something!

Please read and review!


	2. I don't know what I expected

Wow, people actually really seem to like this story. I got no less than 11 favorites and 19 followers by the time I'm posting this, which is what encouraged me to make this chapter so quickly!

Thank you everyone for taking your time to read this, I really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Zero no Tsukaima or Command and Conquer, although my life might be more interesting if I did.

With all this popularity, I have however been upgraded so now I DO get cookies for my writing! Muahahaha!

What, next chapter? Okay, okay.

* * *

Chapter Two

I don't know what I expected!

* * *

The Headmaster of the Tristain Academy of Magic was an elderly man named Osmond. Nobody was quite sure if it was his first or last name, or even how old he was but most people simply called him Old Osmond. He had a preference for the simple joys of life like a good meal, a good drink, a good pipe-weed and knowing what color underwear his secretary was wearing at any particular time.

"Ho, ho. I see, good work Motsognir." He praised the little white mouse sitting in the palm of his hand, his familiar since he was a boy. He gently rewarded the little rodent with a piece of cheese, blissfully ignoring the evil eye he was getting from his secretary, Longueville.

She was a beautiful young woman with shoulder-length hair the shade of freshly-cut grass, a nice hourglass figure and rounded glasses that complimented her nicely. She was however anything but happy at the moment, her face twisted in an angry scowl with a vein pulsing in her forehead.

"Head-mas-terrr!" She hissed in anger at once more being subject to his lecherous ways and was just about to hit him with a large, leather-bound tome when there was a knock on the door to the Headmaster's office. The door opened a moment later to admit a very enthusiastic Professor Colbert who immediately passed Longueville, now holding the book to her chest, to stand before the desk.

"Headmaster Osmond! I have great news!"

"Ah, Colby!" The old man greeted him with a certain twinkle in his eye, not being able to resist the urge to annoy his staff by pretending to be senile. "How goes your research?"

"It's Colbert" He replied without pause, in too much of a good mood to be annoyed. "I believe I have finally been able to establish Louise's element!"

Osmond's eyebrows rose considerably. It was well-known throughout the entire school and even to some of the nearby farming settlements that Louise de la Vallière was practically a lost case. Her grade and attendance were some of the best in the entire school, even compared to the older students in classes above her. She obviously had the drive and intelligence for magic, but none of her spells had ever done anything but explode which was why this was big news indeed!

Abandoning the slouched posture he normally kept, he leaned forward in his chair to give Colbert his full attention. "Please have a seat, Professor. I take it the Springtime Familiar Summoning was successful then?"

Taking a seat in the chair made from carved wood with a stuffed seat that was always kept there for visitors, he took a moment to wince at the question. "Well, yes and no." He hedged. "La Vallière did indeed summon something, although..."

Old Osmond took a moment to fill his smoking pipe and lit it with a spark from his thumb, blowing out a thin stream of smoke he urged him to continue. "Although what, Professor?"

Jean Colbert let out a sigh. "We don't know what it is, Headmaster. It resembles a large insect the size of a small house, completely black in color."

"That happens Colbert, sometimes mages do summon insects of one type or another." he briefly ran a hand over his long, white beard. "However I must agree with you that I have heard of no insect or even animal as large as the one you describe."

Colbert leaned forward as well, resting his elbows on his knees. "That's not all of it however, I have reasons to believe that it is not a living thing at all!" Producing a sheet of paper he had brought with him, he spread it out over the desk to show a drawing of the thing Louise had summoned with a basic human shape for scale. "It was I believe made out of steel or some similar tough metal, and these lines here?" He motioned along the lines he had drawn along the entire length of it, as well as the dots that lined each side of it. "No animal has a shell like that, and these are obviously rivets!"

The Headmaster took a few moments to look over the picture, his own sense of analysis briefly overriding his sense of humor.

"This is a good drawing, Colbert. If this is accurate..."

"I take great pride in my drawing techniques, Headmaster! It is as detailed as I could get it in the time I had available."

It was indeed a very good drawing, simple charcoal on paper but he had managed to get it down almost exactly like what Osmond had seen in his scrying mirror. Nevertheless he did notice something missing; the familiar runes. It was standard practice to record them so they could be deciphered later, as they often gave useful clues to the new summoner.

"...Then I would say that this is a Golem of some kind. Do you believe her to be an Earth mage, then?"

Colbert frowned and leaned back once more, slowly rubbing his chin with one hand. "I would have normally said the same, had it not been for the events of the summoning. It was a very energetic one that threw around winds strong enough that some students were almost blown away."

"Well," Old Osmond mused. "The eldest Vallière sister is a triangle Earth mage, is she not? Éléonore, I believe her name was."

Colbert nodded. "Yes, but do not forget who her mother is."

"Hmm, yes indeed. I can see your issue, Professor."

They sat in silence for a little while, Colbert pondering the issue and Old Osmond puffing on his pipe and sending sweet-smelling smoke into the air.

"I did notice however that you had not written down the familiar rune, Professor Colbert."

Colbert blinked, and then he face-palmed. "Founder, you're right! I was so exited that I only did a drawing of the summon itself." He let out a sigh and folded his arms. "Well, I can do that tomorrow. It would be a hassle juggling a torch and writing implements at the same time."

"Indeed. And quite the fire hazard!"

All the way throughout this conversation, Longueville had been covertly listening in while pretending to sort some papers. Unbeknownst to either of the two men she had been paying close attention to the story, as this information could be of great use to her. She was however forced to admit she couldn't help but agree that there was no easy way to tell what element this little brat had.

"_I had better draw up some plans to take care of her should the need arise. It's always the deviants that give me the biggest headaches!"_

Maybe she'd also figure out a way to get a copy of those runes, nothing was that big unless there was a reason for it.

That night, Louise had one of the most vivid dreams she'd ever had in her life. Normally dreams faded as the day went on, but this one was one she would remember as what had started it all.

_Louise was dreaming, and in her dreams she was flying. Perhaps she was an eagle, soaring majestically in the skies. She honestly didn't know, nor was she particularly good at recognizing the various avian species._

_What she _did_ know was that she had a bird's eye-view of the Academy down below her, arranged into the Sacred Pentagon of the Five Powers. She felt a brief flash of irritation when she noticed it wasn't a perfect geometric shape, what kind of commoners did they hire to build it anyway?_

_Surrounding it were fields and forests she'd never bothered to learn the names of, with the exception of the Dark Forest you had to pass through to get to the capitol city of Tristania. However it was too far away for her to see even at this height, so her attention was instead diverted downards to the courtyard where the Springtime Familiar Summoning had taken place._

_She absently noted that she could still see exactly where the summoning circle had been placed, mostly because of the spiraling furrows that had been torn into the ground by her spectacular failure. It was also the spot where the thing she had summoned was sitting quietly, little more than a large mound of metal. For some reason, she felt the desire to reach out and touch it despite how far down it was. To direct it as she'd seen her mother do with her mighty Manticore that was her familiar._

_'Arise, my familiar.' She commanded it, and it did._

Siesta was a maid in the Academy of Magic, and had been working there for many years. She rather enjoyed the domestic chores and was generally considered a skilled and hard-working woman. Tonight was laundry night and she was carrying a large basket of dirty clothes, sheets and similar things that was in need of a good scrubbing. She hummed softly to herself as she walked the path to the washroom and was just about to round the corner to the Vestri court when she very nearly walked into someone.

"Watch where you're going, commoner!" Someone hissed, and she looked around the pile to see the womanizing Guiche de Gramont and a girl hanging on his arm, although not the same one he usually did.

"I'm sorry, my lord!" She apologized immediately, the basket thumping against the ground as she bowed low at the waist.

Guiche looked at her for a few moments, his eyes wandering down to where he could see the generous mounds of her chest. Although he would have preferred a nice bit of cleavage, it lightened his mood enough that he didn't feel the need to punish her.

"Hmph, see to it that it doesn't happen again, commoner."

"Yes, my lord."

"Uwaaa! You're so cool, Guiche!" Katie squealed girlishly as they walked away, and Siesta kept the pose for a few seconds before breathing a sigh of relief. Any commoner knew not to stick her nose into the dealings of the Nobles, as that only lead to grief (and possibly pain). However, when she opened her eyes again she spotted something small catching the light just next to the basket.

"What's this, a perfume bottle?" She asked out loud as she held the little glass bottle up in front of her. She could see a purple-hued liquid within it and was secured with a small glass stopper that had been ground to a perfect fit in the neck of a bottle. Far too fancy to be the property of a commoner she assumed that it was most likely dropped by accident when she bumped into the Noble earlier.

As she went to tuck it away in a pocket for safekeeping until she could return it, she heard a loud metallic clank come from the field before her. As she watched, what she previously had assumed was just one of the silly statues or monuments that the Nobles favored folded out four pointed legs and _stood up._

With several loud thunks of its stubby legs slamming into the ground, it turned around to face her and she felt the blood drain out of her face as she was confronted by a _multitude of eyes that actually glowed red in the dark_.

A loud scream of terror echoed through the night, frightening birds and small critters followed by a piercing cry of:

"**IT'S A GIANT BUUUUUUUUUG!"**

* * *

_Louise felt satisfied as her familiar reacted to her wishes, and it spoke to her in an echoing voice unlike the one she heard when it was first summoned. This voice was smooth and cultured and spoke perfect Halkeginian with a slight tone of arrogance. She found this strangely comforting in its familiarity._

"_**MCV."**_

_Was that what it was called? Emseevee? She thought it must be an abbreviation for something, there was no reason to pronounce each letter otherwise. _

_'What is your purpose?' She asked it._

"_**We build for the Brotherhood."** Came the echoing response._

_'Will you build for me?'_

"_**Of course."**_

In her bed in the Academy, Louise smiled in her sleep.

_'Then do so at once!'_

_A moment passed, and she could see the large bug-like thing turning around this way and that, as if looking for something._

"_**A better place, perhaps?"**_

_She pondered this for a few moments and came to the conclusion that it was correct, the Vestri court wasn't a very good place to build something for her. Although it was the largest of the courts, it was too cramped._

_Her mind moved swifter than any horse or birds, going beyond the protective walls of the Academy to a flat section of land that had not yet been claimed as farmland._

_'Will this do?' She asked once more._

"_**We can try it."**_

_She blinked in her dream and found herself above the Vestri court once more, just to watch her familiar smash right through the wall without pausing. Unlike the Academy itself the walls were not magically enhanced and broke easily beneath its heavy gait, but it did not matter. Brick and masonry was cheap and easily replaced._

_'Will it take long?'_

"_**The foundation must be true."**_

_'Will you be able to do it? Will you carry out my will?'_

"_**We carry the future."**_

_The elation she felt when she heard these echoing words were beyond describing, maybe she could finally do something useful. With this she could rub it in the face of all those who told her she was useless, a failure! _

_She could be of use to the crown! She could enforce the rule of the crown! The possibilities were limitless!_

_And then when she had made everything right in the world, maybe her mother would give her one of those rare smiles and tell her: "You've done well, my daughter."_

"_**The cities of Nod will rise."**_

* * *

The next morning came unbidden and unwelcome to Louise as she laid curled up within her comfortable blankets. How could something so far away as the Sun be able to strike with such precision? It was maddening, and yet it happened every single morning when all she wanted was to remain in bed!

This morning was a bad one in particular as she felt as if she had barely slept at all. She blamed it on that stupid dream she had about her stupid familiar that just sat there and did nothing, the sheer irritation of it all was enough to force her to sit up in her bed. Smacking her lips to try and get rid of the dry flavor in her mouth that always came like clockwork, stretching her arms above her head she marked the start of her morning routine.

After stumbling about for a little bit she poured some water into her washbasin and splashed some of it into her face. Thus slightly more awake she went about brushing her strawberry blonde hair and getting dressed in the uniform for the day. Today was a day off for the mages who had successfully summoned a familiar, which meant no classes. So she could take her time getting herself just right before going out to find breakfast, a welcome change to the normal routine.

However disaster struck in the annoyingly untimely manner it always did.

Not a second after she stepped through the doorway marking the sacred space that was her room, the door on the opposite side of the hallway opened as well. This one belonged to her greatest and most-hated enemy, second only to the morning Sun itself!

"Zerbst." She ground out in greeting the moment she saw the red-headed boobie monster. Behind her, she caught a glimpse of Kirche's own room and the pile lying on the bed that she assumed was her latest conquests. "Why do you have to irritate me every morning?"

"Oh why good morning, Louise!" She greeted her brightly. It was incredible how someone could be so perky in the mornings despite being so active at night.

"Have you met my familiar yet?" She asked smugly, motioning with her hand down at the salamander who was just coming out to stop beside her. "He's a rare fire salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains!" She boasted. "Not even collectors can put a price on one of those!"

Louise gritted her teeth as Kirche leaned forward slightly and made a show about looking around with her hand over her eyes. "Oh? I don't see your familiar anywhere. Did it leave you already?"

"Don't wave your chest in my face, you succubus!" Louise responded hotly. "And you'd know that it's too big to be in here if you had half as much in your head as you did in your breasts!"

Kirche just smiled and ran her hands up her waist to briefly lift her bust and then let it fall back down with a satisfying bounce. "Don't hate it just because you don't have it!"

Louise actually looked like she might explode and she was briefly afraid she'd gone too far when she suddenly turned on her heel and stomped away down the corridor, muttering to herself.

"Should stop doing that." Came a somewhat monotone voice from behind her, and Kirche turned her head to look at the only person she could actually consider a friend. Tabitha was a diminutive bluenette who on first glance had absolutely nothing in common with the tall, curvy Germanian.

She pressed her glasses back up her nose with the spine of a large book as she cradled her staff in her other hand, giving the other an exasperated glance of someone who'd seen it many times before.

"What can I say?" Kirche shrugged. "She's too easy to rile up, and besides," She looked down the corridor where Louise had stomped off. "maybe the frustration will encourage her."

"Stupid, stupid Kirche!" Louise grumbled as she made her way down towards the Alvíss Dining Hall for breakfast. It was thus named after the many statues resembling little people that decorated the walls. She normally came down for breakfast much earlier in the morning, but since it was the day after the summoning, it was mostly the younger and older students.

She had just sat down and gotten a cup of tea and a pastry from the lunch wagon set down before her by a maid when there was a slight commotion nearby. Someone was moving very quickly through the small crowd of people and that someone was Jean Colbert who soon came to a stop before her table. She blinked at the man as he took a moment to catch his breath and had just taken a bite from her pastry when he spoke up.

"Miss Vallière! Your familiar has disappeared!"

Had she started with the tea he would have gotten a face-full of it, but as it was she tried to shout "Whaaat?" and swallow at the same time. The result was that it got lodged in her throat and it took a lot of coughing and that same maid clapping her on the back to get it out.

Taking a deep breath she offered a smile to the maid who helped her and got one in return before she hurried on to serve the next person. "Huuuh.. I thought I was going to die." She sighed before remembering what Colbert had said and snapped her head back towards him.

"Wait, my familiar disappeared? How is that even possible?!" She demanded as she stood up, not caring that the chair she had been sitting on almost went flying in process.

"I don't know miss Vallière. I was going out just now to make a copy of the familiar runes, and it wasn't there!" He said while gesticulating wildly in the direction of the field in question.

"Brimir damn it!" She hissed as she rounded the table, was nothing going right today? Colbert fell in after her as she started walking down the hall towards the exit, ignoring the whispers that had started not long after his outburst.

Siesta looked up from where she had just finished serving another noble and bit her lip as she remembered the frightening event from the day before, could that have been the familiar? She really hated insects with a lot of legs, and although the one she had seen only had four and was too large to be an insect, it had triggered the same kind of feeling. Should she follow them and tell them? She bit her lip for a moment as she pondered it, ignoring the Noble trying to get her attention.

"Hey, commoner! I said I wanted some more tea!"

She slapped her face a few times to better focus her mind on the present and nodded once as she came to a decision. After waving another servant down to serve the now very irritated Noble she had ignored, she set out after them.

A few minutes later, Louise and Professor Colber arrived in the Vestri court to find that the enormous shelled familiar had indeed vacated the premises. Although a lot of the damage done by the summoning had been repaired by the Academy's small army of diligent gardeners, there were several fresh holes in the ground.

Louise paced to and fro over where it had been sitting quietly before, alternating between running her hands through her hair and pulling on it as she tried to make sense of it. How the hell did something that big even do that, for Brimir's sake?

"_Oh Founder, please just kill me now!"_

Losing your familiar was a pretty serious thing, and would only reflect badly on the mage that summoned it. Before she could start contemplating the ways of quick suicide, a third voice suddenly piped up behind them.

"Um, excuse me?"

Both Louise and Colbert who had been examining the ruined wall turned to the maid that had suddenly showed up behind them. "Are you looking for that.. bug thing?" She asked timidly. "I was here when it... vanished yesterday."

Louise immediately narrowed her eyes and pointed an accusing finger at the dark-haired maid. "You! Did you steal it?"

Siesta gaped for a moment at the sudden accusation and waved her hands up in front of her. "No, absolutely not! It just stood up and wandered off!"

"Miss Vallière, please." Colbert said gently to his fuming student before turning back to Siesta. "Could you tell me exactly what happened? Every detail might be important."

"Well," She began. "I was carrying laundry to be washed and I was passing through this courtyard when, er... my fingers slipped on the basket I was carrying so I bent to pick it back up." She cursed herself inwardly for not coming up with a better story beforehand, to say that she saw a noble two-timing on his girlfriend would only end badly.

"And then what happened?"

"I heard this loud clanking sound," She recalled, tapping her lower lip with a finger. "and when I looked up it had stood up on these four, kind of squat-looking legs." She swallowed. "And then it turned to look at me."

Teacher and student looked at each other as Siesta shivered and hugged herself.

"It was possibly the most frightening thing I've ever experienced! It had eyes! Lots of eyes!" She exclaimed, holding her balled-up hands up in front of her with an almost wild look in her eyes that made the two take a step back. "An they were glowing red like embers in the dark." She paused to blink and catch her breath. "And then it just kind of walked through the wall over there." She said and pointed towards the large hole in the Academy wall.

"Hmm." Colbert said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It does appear as if the wall simply collapsed outwards, which matches your description of the events. Are you sure that's everything?"

"Well.. I didn't exactly follow it out." She murmured, poking her index fingers together and looking away. "I really hate bugs."

"Ah." Colbert blinked and then smiled. "That's alright, miss..?"

"Siesta, sir."

"That's alright miss Siesta, you can go back to your duties now if you wish."

"Thank you, sir." She gave them both a short bow before she hurried back to her rounds, for some reason feeling ill at ease and just wanting to leave the scene behind her.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to follow the tracks." Colbert said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Something that big would leave a lot of tracks. Miss Vallière?"

It was then he noticed that Louise had been very quiet for a few moments and looked over towards her to find she looked like she'd seen a ghost. Her face was pale and she was shaking slightly as she looked at the tracks and the hole in the wall as if seeing it in a new light. "Are you all-right miss Vallière?" He asked again.

"I..." She swallowed and took a deep breath, having suddenly remembered her dream from the night before. How she told it to move and it did, as well as ordering to find a new place...

Oh Founder.

"I think I know where it went."

"A dream? Hmm... it _does_ occasionally happen that a summoner gets memories and images flowing back through the familiar bond." Colbert said as they climbed a hill. Louise had after some gentle questioning told him about the dream she had, and about the voice she had heard.

"S-so I'm not crazy?" She asked hopefully, having been afraid she had been losing it completely.

Colbert shook his head and offered her a comforting smile. "No, there have been documented cases of similar thing happening before. Although cases where mages have said that they could hear the words of their familiars aren't rare, I don't think I've ever heard of one speaking Ancient Romalian before."

Louise nodded. "I know, but I swear that's what I heard. I'm not an expert, but I've learned a little from doing research."

"Yes, many of the old texts are written in Ancient Romalian. You are quite the excellent student to have managed to get through those." He praised her.

"Thank you, Professor!" She smiled, happy to have gotten recognition for her hard work. "We should be close now."

Sure enough, when they crested the hill they have arrived on exactly the spot where Louise had directed her familiar in her dream. And there it was, and all it's black and... pink glory?

"It seems bigger than what I remember." Colbert mused as he took in all the new details of what her familiar had morphed into. No longer resembling a bug, it was now a sort of oval-shaped building with a sweeping, rounded roof that ended in a claw-like point in front. Open in the front, it somehow reminded him of a warehouse of some sort, he could even see a crane dangling from the ceiling. A glowing strip of pink ran down the center, tipped a little tower in the back and ran around the rounded sides as well as a curious symbol decorating the floor.

"That _is_ odd." Louise commented as they made their way down towards it. "It was a lot more crimson in my dream." she said, furrowing her brow as she compared the design in her dream to the one before her.

They both took their time examining the building all the way around, founding more of the symbols that Colbert had first observed on the floor in front of the building. It was a triangle with rounded corners sitting on a black, pink-rimmed circle. Inside the triangle what was could only be described as the profile of a scorpion's tail viewed from the side.

It still had the rows of familiar runes scribed into the hull however, and Colbert took a moment to make a simple rubbing of a section of the side with some charcoal on paper as Louise watched from the side.

"Never hurts to be certain." He commented sheepishly as he carefully overlaid it with another sheet of paper before rolling it up into a tube.

Standing in front of the building, the two tried to peer into its dark depths without actually stepping foot onto it. They quickly found that this was nearly impossible and spent a few moments contemplating their next move, eventually Colbert turned to his student and motioned inwards.

"It's your familiar, miss Vallière, I think you had better do the honors."

Nodding, Louise took a deep breath and closed her eyes before lifting her foot and swinging her weight forward until she stepped onto the metallic panels with a dull clunk. When nothing happened after a few seconds she opened one eye, then the other, and looked back at the older man.

"It's safe, I think."

He nodded and followed her inside into the gloom of this mysterious familiar who was also a building.

The inside was dimly lit by some kind of glowing wall sections that acted like no form of natural lighting either had ever seen. She almost had to drag him away from them and into a stairwell set in the far back. It led into a short corridor that terminated into what appeared to be a dead end, emblazoned by the same scorpion-triangle as before.

Colbert didn't say anything as he furrowed his brows, trying to find any hidden mechanisms and levers around them. "Is this it?" He asked, half to himself.

"No, it can't be." Louise hissed, trying hard to keep her hopes up. She couldn't have come this far just to have her hopes and dreams crushed again, could she? But no matter how they searched and felt along the walls, nothing was showing up.

But instead of sorrow all she felt was anger. Anger at the world, her dreams, and this stupid familiar! With an incoherent scream she turned and slammed her fist right in the center of the emblem, and no one was more surprised than her when it lit up like set on fire.

**++RECOGNIZED – LOUISE DE LA VALLIÈRE.++**

**++WELCOME, PROPHET.++**

And then there was a brief hissing noise, like water thrown on flames, before the wall that had blocked their access so successfully split down the middle like a jagged bolt of lightning, each side vanishing into the walls.

Louise stood frozen, her fist still extended in the air as her mind tried to make sense of what just happened. Walls didn't do that!

Well, at least the voice had spoken Halkeginian this time.

Colbert was in a similar state but shook it off far quicker than she did for some reason, and ended her trance when he put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake.

"Good work miss Vallière! I should have guessed that you were the key to this particular puzzle." He said, trying to insert a little bit of awkward humor into the situation.

"Uh, thank you Professor." She could only mutter in response as she slowly stepped inside the inner sanctum.

Nothing could quite have prepared them however for what laid inside. Considerably larger than they had expected, the room expanded on both sides into what looked like some kind of arcane workspaces. Each with numerous knobs, dials and a section of squares with little glowing letters on them. The walls were awash in crimson light, depicting falling columns of letters and digits, some of which they did not even recognize. Further ahead, the walkway they were on descended on a few steps into a more narrow area with more glowing walls on them.

"Brimir's balls!" Louise swore as she tried to take it all in, to her it looked more like the Church's depiction of hell than anything else. All it lacked were some cackling men with pitchforks and some shrill screaming.

Colbert was similarly dumbstruck to the point where he didn't even bother telling her off for using the Founder's name in vain. Mostly because he was thinking the same thing as he looked over the many dots of light and tried to make sense of the scrolling text.

"I... what in Brimir's name did you summon, Louise?" He couldn't help but exclaim.

Before she could reply, a familiar voice intruded on her scrambled thoughts.

**++GREETINGS, PROPHET.++**

Louise jumped and whirled around, trying to spot the speaker. "Who said that?" she yelped. "Where are you?!"

The Professor next to her was snapped out of his wonder at her exclamation, frowning. "Who are you talking to, miss Vallière?"

++**MY NAME IS LEGION, PROPHET.++**

"Eh?"

"Miss Vallière!"

"What?!" She snapped at him, then blinked when she realized she had just snapped at a teacher. "Er... sorry, Professor." She said awkwardly and took a moment to run her cheeks with her palms, all of this was starting to get to her.

"It's quite alright, miss Vallière." He sighed. "Is it your familiar speaking?"

"I.. I don't know! I need some fresh air!" The voices, the dreams, the stifling atmosphere in here was just too much. She felt as if the glowing walls were closing in on her and she turned on her heel and ran back upstairs at full tilt.

The balding Professor sighed and looked around once more. He could see why Louise had reached her limit in what she could take in at once, this was overwhelming even to him and it was _her_ familiar.

Looking up across the vast amount of black metal and crimson lights, he experimentally called out to the entity within. "I don't suppose you could speak to me as well?"

He waited for a moment but when no answer came, he blew out a sigh and went to follow his student back outside. He found her sitting with her back against one of the nondescript crates that littered the floor near where the curved roof ended. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her eyes looked a little red.

"Miss Vallière?"

A loud sniffle was his only response.

"Come on, let's go back to the Academy." He said gently. "I need to report back to the Headmaster, you may come with me if you'd like. It's your business as well, after all."

She nodded quietly and stood up, together they began the short trek back to the Academy.

* * *

About half an hour later, she was sitting in a comfortable armchair in the Headmaster's office, holding a hot cup of tea in both hands. She had been sitting quietly while Colbert explained the situation to the Headmaster, who was listening intently while stroking his beard.

"A building you say, Camembert?"

"It's Colbert, headmaster!" He sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose with his middle and index fingers. "And yes, it's at least twice as large now than it was before."

"I see. Do you think it might pose a threat to miss Vallière or anyone else?"

"I... don't think so." He said hesitantly. Although it was true he had seen nothing in there that could be considered a weapon, he knew to never judge a book by its cover.

"It seems content to sit where it is, although she tells me that, um..." He paused to look over to Louise, but he recognized the thousand-yard stare of someone trying to cope with an overwhelming event. He'd seen it in the eyes of soldiers after their first battle, and it was hard seeing the same look in someone so young.

When she did not react at all to his half-finished statement, he turned back to the Headmaster and continued. "She tells me she can hear it speak to her."

"Oho? Fully sapient familiars are rare, and only the ones with true intelligence is capable of speech." The elderly Headmaster said as he looked over to Louise. "I expected nothing less from a Vallière."

"Thank you, Headmaster." She murmured.

She had been sitting there, staring down into the cup of now-lukewarm tea for the past fifteen minutes. What kind of familiar dug itself into the ground and refused to move? At the moment it didn't matter to her that she had a completely unique familiar, it was practically useless!

She couldn't ride it, she couldn't send it anywhere, heck she couldn't even pet it! She blinked hard as she tried to keep the tears that she felt coming on trapped behind her eyes. What good was it to her?

++**I CANNOT FULFILL ANY OF THE DUTIES YOU REQUIRE IF YOU WILL NOT GIVE ME DIRECTION, PROPHET.**++

The voice of her familiar rumbled through her mind like the rock avalanche she once watched as a little girl. She and her family had been on one of their rare outings together, and her mother had demonstrated her awesome power to her children. The target was a hapless cliff face that had almost completely collapsed under a low-level spell from her mother.

Louise had been six years old, her sisters Cattelya and Éléonore 14 and 17. This had proved an important formative event for the young girl, and cemented the belief that her mother was the strongest mage there was. As a result she had unconsciously compared her own progress to her mother ever since, which had led to quite a few issues as she grew older.

Tea flew everywhere as she jumped out of her chair in a surprise reaction. Both men quickly turned to look at her and Colbert just barely dodged the porcelain cup that came flying. Neither had a chance to say a word of admonishment or comfort as Louise's hands slapped against her ears and she growled like an angry dog.

"STOP talking in my head you stupid familiar!"

"Miss Vallière!" Colbert called out in alarm and cringed inwardly. He understood why this was happening, but having an outburst in the Headmaster's office was going to go over like a fart in Chruch!

**++FORGIVE ME, PROPHET.++**

**++CANNOT COMMUNICATE WITH YOU IN ANY OTHER WAY.++**

Colbert worriedly looked over at Old Osmond who despite his expectations were watching this with a deceptive sense of calm. He was puffing on his pipe without a care in the world as he watched the most troubled child in the school have an angry, one-sided conversation with her familiar.

"Please accept my apology for my student, Headmaster!" The Professor begged, bowing his head and clapping his hands together in the universal pose of submission.

The old man chuckled and waved his pipe dismissively in Colbert's direction. "Oh it's quite alright, Professor. I can see that this is hard on miss Vallière, and it's good that she can vent without her classmates watching her every move."

The younger man made a sigh of relief and nodded, happy that the Headmaster was such a mild-mannered person. He had often heard the other children call her names and ridicule her for her inability to produce anything worthwhile. He had always felt so helpless whenever he saw her shoulders slump after being called a Zero, and he always did his best to discourage the use of the name. Alas, although he was well-versed in how to pass knowledge onto young minds, he had little experience helping them with other unrelated issues.

"Besides" He continued with a small grin as he looked down at the tea-soaked papers on his desk. "Now I won't have to do all this paperwork!"

"Headmaster!"

Louise had abandoned the fruitless attempts at covering her ears, slightly mirroring her attempts the night before. Instead she had stalked over to one of the ornate bookcases in the room and with a cry of frustration she slammed her forehead into the hard wood.

**++WARNING – PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE IS NOT APPLICABLE TO ORGANIC SYSTEMS.++**

"Shut up!"

**++DAMAGE TO THE FRONTAL LOBES CAN CAUSE IMPAIRMENTS IN JUDGEMENT, ATTENTION SPAN AND ORGANIZATIONAL ABILITY, AS WELL AS LOSS OF MOTIVATION.++**

"Just... leave me alone!" She shouted as she rested her head against the hard wood, the cool surface feeling nice against her now-aching forehead. "Why are you doing this?!"

A few seconds passed before Legion's voice came again, but somewhat more muted than before.

**++IT IS MY DUTY TO SEE TO YOUR WELL-BEING, MY PROPHET.++**

**++I CANNOT PREFORM MY FUNCTION TO YOU WITHOUT COMMUNICATING WITH YOU, ALTHOUGH I CANNOT ADEQUATELY EXPLAIN WHY ONLY YOU HEAR MY VOICE.++**

"It's..." She sighed and turned so that her back was against the bookcase and slid to the floor, where she once more assumed the curled-up position with her knees to her chest. "It's most likely the familiar bond." She told him.

**++FAMILIAR: NOUN.++**

**++A FAMILIAR FRIEND OR ASSOCIATE.++**

**++OR++**

**++AN ANIMAL, AS A CAT, THAT EMBODIES A SUPERNATURAL SPIRIT AND AIDS A WITCH IN PREFORMING MAGIC.++**

"Witch?" She asked in confusion, having never heard that voice in her life. "We are mages, and our familiars is said to reflect the summoner." She recited, having learned it by heart since she was a child.

**++AKNOWLEDGED.++**

Well, now that she'd started talking with him, Legion wasn't so bad she supposed. Although the way he talked left some to be desired, it wasn't quite as bad as she had first felt it was.

"_Bet you my savings that Kirche can't hold a meaningful conversation with that ugly reptile of hers!"_ She thought smugly.

"Have you worked things out with your familiar, miss Vallière?" Once more Louise jumped in surprise when the Headmaster addressed her directly, and she was on her feet in a fraction of a second. "Yes, Headmaster!" She said, giving him a respectful bow to which he nodded in return.

"I have no excuse for this behavior!" She said, suddenly realizing what she had been doing in the Headmaster's own office. Throwing cups and tea around, and assaulting his furniture with her thick head was surely a punishable offense! "I will accept whatever punishment you wish to give me!"

Colbert couldn't help but sigh at her antics, but smiled at the same time. The girl had an explosive temper but her heart was in the right place.

"Hmm, well I will let you off this time miss Vallière." The old Headmaster said with a small chuckle. "Just do not let it happen again, understood?"

She straightened back up, surprised but happy at his leniency. "Yes, Headmaster!" She chirped with a smile.

"You must be hungry by now." He said, grinning a little when he heard her stomach growl even from where he was sitting, to her embarrassment. "Go down to the Alvíss Hall and get yourself some dinner before you go to bed, you have classes tomorrow do you not?"

"Ah! Yes Headmaster! I will be going now." She gave him another bow before turning and heading out through the door, in a considerably better mood than when she entered. She did not even notice miss Longueville standing against the wall to the right, half-hidden by the door as it was opened. If she had she might have wondered why the bookish secretary had been standing there, but as it was she was too intent on having a hot meal.

Longueville had of course heard everything through eavesdropping, and was already discarding the half-finished plans she'd made. A stationary familiar was of neither use nor danger to her, although she would have to scout its location later...

Her thought halted abruptly as she heard the conversation start up again on the other side of the door, and pressed her ear against the hard wood to listen.

Colbert had decided to help clean up a little after Louise's unfortunate teacup accident as further apology for his student. In truth he was used to cleaning up similar things in his laboratory, as his experiments had a tendency to fail spectacularly with large messes as a result.

"Miss Vallière has been put in a very interesting situation has she not?" The Headmaster mused out loud.

"Yes, although it may prove a great boon to us all in the end." Responded the Professor as he swept up the pieces of the teacup and had it join the ruined papers in the trash.

"Oh? Why would you say that, Professor?"

"When we went inside her Familiar, we beheld some truly wondrous things." He said as he dusted himself off before sitting down once more. His eyes were shining as he recalled the glowing walls of moving letters, the many perfectly smooth surfaces and the general _uniformity_ of what he had seen.

"It is clearly not of this world, Headmaster. I thought in the beginning when it was first summoned that perhaps it came from the Sahara desert or a place beyond Rub al Khali, but now I doubt even that!"

"If it is even half as amazing as you discover it might just be." Osmond replied as he tried to compare it with anything he had ever seen before. He thought briefly of the Staff of Destruction he had found so many years ago, but dismissed it quickly. You do not compare a sword to a house, after all.

"I can't wait to visit it again." Colbert said excitedly. "A more thorough exploration might yield more answers for miss Vallière, as well!"

"Perhaps you should ask to visit come the Day of Void?"

He lit up, at that thought. "Ah, you are quite right! I will ask miss Vallière after her classes are over tomorrow."

"A sound plan, Colston."

"It's Colbert, Headmaster!"

* * *

Down in the Alvíss Hall, Louise were enjoying a hearty meal of _Boeuf Bourguignon_ and a fresh loaf of bread when when she heard Guiche's flamboyant voice next to her.

"What's this? This is not mine!"

Looking over, she saw the maid from earlier this morning holding a small glass flask out to the Gramont boy who was sitting a handful of seats down the table from her.

"My Lord, I found this in the courtyard last night and I thought that it might be yours."

"It is not mine, get rid of it immediately!" He scoffed at the maid, and Louise could feel a headache coming on.

Couldn't the stupid boy just accept it and be done with it?

At this moment, Montmorency de Montmorency, a somewhat vain girl who was also Guiche's _official_ girlfriend leaned over the table from where she had been sitting across from him.

"Isn't that the bottle of perfume I made for you?" She asked suspiciously, glancing between the dark-haired maid and her boyfriend. "Why does she have it, Guiche?"

Louise rested her elbow on the table, chin in her palm as she watched the drama play out while slowly sipping the glass of wine she had been served.

"_Serves him right."_ She thought.

**++IS THIS FORM OF INTERRACTION COMMON WITHIN YOUR SOCIETY?++**

Legion's voice rumbled in her mind, but she found she had mostly adjusted to its presence by now.

"Yes and no." She mumbled around her glass as she watched Guiche start to sweat visibly as he tried to explain his way out of it.

**++PLEASE ELABORATE.++**

"What's there to say? He's a two-timing fop who is unable to think any longer than the length of his pecker." She snickered.

**++UNDERSTOOD.++**

"W-wait Monmon, you got it all wrong!"

"Do I, Guiche? Then explain it to me!"

"We-well you see," He said, holding his hands up as if to ward off a blow. "I was out taking a midnight stroll and this maid..."

"Don't try shift the blame to her!"

Siesta was still clutching the little glass bottle in her hands, her head bobbing to and fro as she followed the conversation worriedly.

"_Should I just leave it here and make a run for it?"_ She considered briefly, but she knew she was already on thin ice after leaving one of the Nobles hanging this morning. Either way her plans were dashed as another voice cut into the conversation, and Siesta recognized the girl hurrying towards them as the girl from last night.

"Guii-iiche!" the girl called in a sing-song voice, in her hands she was carrying a small metal pan with an embroidered towel lying over it. "You said you wanted to try my soufflé last night!"

If it was bad before, not Guiche looked downright pale. "K-Katie?!"

It didn't take Montmorency long to put two and two together as she rounded on Guiche, her eyes having narrowed into slits at his obvious two-timing.

"Wait, Monmon! You're the only one for me, my ro-"

SLAP!

He was cut off mid-sentence by Montmorency's hand impacting against his right cheek with considerable force, and could only watch as she stormed off in anger.

"Guiche..."

His head snapped up to Katie who was looking down at him with a look of horror that quickly shifted into realization and then anger.

"Katie, this isn-"

SLAP!

Hand met face once again, accompanied with the clang of the pan being dropped on the floor before she, too, stormed off in the opposite direction.

"Good one, Guiche!" His friends who had also been sitting nearby called to him between bouts of laughter. "The rose that blooms for many strikes again!"

More laughter followed the exclamation that had Guiche shaking with anger and humiliation. Although it was not always the case, children had a certain tendency towards cruelty for the sake of amusement. It was also easy to redirect the blame to someone else, which was exactly what happened as he snapped his head up to look at the startled Siesta.

"This is your fault, commoner!" He growled at the poor maid as he stood up, his rose wand finding its way into his fingers with a flourish.

"W-what?" She squeaked, shrinking back from his tone of voice. "My Lord, please!"

"You have made two girls cry!" He announced with a sniff, ignoring the fact that he had done so all himself. "How do you intend to make this up to them? To me?"

"B-but... sir!" She stammered. "I'm only a poor maid, I don't have much in ways of value!"

"Then you leave me no choice, commoner! You are hereby banished from the Academy!" He shouted, swishing his wand to punctuate his words.

The little glass bottle fell with a clatter on the checkered red and white marble floors of the dining hall, and to Louise that was the final straw.

Normally she would just have ignored this, but there was just something about this situation that pushed almost all of her buttons. Perhaps it was the stress of the past two days, her being tired of seeing Guiche's repeat preformance or just the alcohol present in her bloodstream. Perhaps it was all three combined yet again with the sheer injustice of it all.

Throughout her life she had often heard from both her parents and her sisters that it was a Noble's duty to look out for the commoners that served them. Although it was not against the law for a Noble to carry out harsh punishments against commoners, her mother had always made sure that all punishments were indeed just!

The sound of her palms slamming into the table and rattling the fine china and silverware brought the attention of most of the Alvíss Hall to her. Ignoring them, she stood up to her full height of five feet and pointed her index finger at Guiche.

"Stop right there, Gramont!" She called out to him, her cheeks flushed both from wine and anger. "I will not allow you to blame your two-timing on this commoner!"

There was a collective "Ooooooh!" from the surrounding audience followed by the customary whispers.

"Louise the Zero is standing up for a commoner?"

"That's absurd!"

"Doesn't she know better than to stay out of the business of another noble?"

"Of course she doesn't! Zero skill, Zero wits!"

A small bout of laughter followed the last one, but she again ignored it as she always did.

"Hmph!" Guiche smirked and smoothed out his frilly shirt with one hand. "What's this, Vallière? I didn't peg you for someone with a thing for a commoner." He taunted.

Louise smirked and folded her arms over her modest chest, suddenly feeling brave. "That's rich coming from someone like you. Do you want me to get you some cream for those nice, matching hand-prints on your cheeks?"

He recoiled slightly, more in surprise from getting such a biting remark from her of all people than the insult itself. He quickly recovered however and brought an actual rose out from the inside of his cloak and put it to his nose.

"You know what they say, better to have love and lost than never loved at all." His smirk turned cruel. "Isn't that right, Zero?"

By now everyone was following the wordplay between them, immature as it was.

Louise was fuming now, damn that fop and his cleverly worded replies! "Well at least you could have made a better choice than Montmorency the Flood!"

Guiche gasped audibly at this audacity, how dare she insult his dearest Monmon?! Oh she probably hated him right now, but nevertheless!

"Nobody insults Monmon to my face, Vallière!" He shouted at her, pointing his wand directly at her. "You take that back!"

But she stood her ground, her head held high as her pride as a noble demanded. "Never!"

"Then I will have you pay for this most grievous of insults!" He said, swinging his wand down once more with a satisfying swish. "I, Guiche de Gramont, challenge you to a duel! Vestri Court at dawn!"

Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd like wildfire. Guiche against Louise? That was hardly a fair fight!

She too had suddenly realized this and flexed her jaw for a few seconds before finally answering as her pride demanded.

"I, Louise de la Vallière, accept!"

* * *

And there we have it! I felt like I didn't want to try and rush Louise's acceptance of Legion since he's so different from the normal familiars she gets. That's why I moved the event with Guiche's challenge to later in the day instead, as I felt that was more appropriate in order to not lump it all together at once. Hopefully I'm getting their characters right as it's been a while since I watched the show.

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review if you did!


	3. Necessary Force

Once again, I'm overjoyed by the interest people are showing in my story. I'm a little afraid I'll end up saying that in the beginning of every chapter, but I really meant a lot to me that people are enjoying this!

I even got compared to Nim Maj's _Herald of the Void_ in a review! That's the fic that introduced me to Zero no Tsukaima in the first place, so that's enormously high praise to me.

I will do my very best to write this as well as I possibly could, so please don't feel bad about giving me criticism for my work. I regularly check my spelling and grammar, but I know I make mistakes too and I won't be insulted if you inform me about them.

Now, I won't keep you any longer. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: No, you know the drill by now.

* * *

Chapter 3

Necessary force

* * *

This was bad, this was bad, this was bad. This was really bad.

For the past two hours, Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière had been trying to wear a hole in the carpet that covered the hard, cold stone floors of her room.

After she had had a chance to cool off after her little row, no, her name-calling match with Guiche she was starting to comprehend the severity of the situation. She was going to be facing down Guiche de Gramont in battle.

_De Gramont._

The Gramonts were an old military family that had served the Tristain Royal Family for over _ten generations!_ His father was none other than General Armand de Gramont, a distinguished man that she remember hearing about at the Vallière Estates as a girl.

No doubt Guiche would have had some form of military-influenced upbringing, heck he probably had forgotten more about strategy and fighting than she'd ever known!

This was bad, this was bad, this was bad, this was bad, this was bad!

She was alternating between pulling her hair out and contemplative suicide by letter opener when Legion's voice reverberated through her mind.

**++PROPHET, IF IT IS FORCES YOU REQUIRE –++**

"Why do you keep calling me prophet?!" she shouted angrily at the voice in her head, her temper long past its breaking point. "And can't you talk normally? This rock slide of a voice of yours is driving me mad!"

**++ACCESSING VOICE MODULATING PROTOCOLS, STAND BY++**

There was a few seconds of quiet, and she imagined she could hear the gears in his mind turning. Actually, the gears might even be literal gears for all she knew!

The voice that then spoke up was obviously still Legion, but it had lost many of the harsh qualities that had been grinding on her mind. It was still a very deep bass tone, but it didn't thunder in her ears as much as it did before.

"**Adjustment complete. Is this acceptable to you, Prophet?"**

She blew out a sigh and nodded, although she quickly realized he couldn't see her. "Very much so. Why didn't you do that from the start?"

"**The voice settings had been calibrated for maximum psychological impact by my creator. I assumed you would be of the same opinon as he."**

"Well I'm not!" she huffed. She wasn't completely sure what he meant by 'voice settings' but she assumed it was something along the lines of instrumental tuning.

"Who the hell made you sound like that, anyway?"

"**The founder and leader of the Brotherhood of Nod, the Prophet [ERROR]"**

Louise raised an eyebrow, confusion obvious on her face. What kind of name was that?

"His name was... Error?"

"**It appears some damage has been caused to my memory. Upon reactivation I was forced to carry out repairs to my systems, some data may have been lost during this process."**

"_Well, that was unfortunate."_ she thought but quickly dismissed it. Although it would have been interesting to know more about the man who created her familiar, it didn't matter in the long run.

"That doesn't matter anymore, you are here now and I have bound you as my familiar. From now on you will address me as Master, understood?"

Although Louise couldn't help but admit she was a little unnerved by having such a militaristic familiar, she decided that she might as well start by making him act properly.

"**Acknowledged."**

"**The logbook entry: _Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière_ has been updated."**

She nodded to herself, satisfied by his answer. It was a little strange that her familiar was keeping a log of everything, but she had come to accept at this point that he was anything but normal.

"Back to the matter at hand" she said, walking over to her desk and sat down in the chair in front of it. She had spent many hours in this chair while working on both schoolwork and research, it felt only natural to sit there for the purpose of planning.

"You said something about forces?" she asked, recalling his opening statement earlier. She hadn't been paying much attention to everything he had said, so caught up in her own frustration. But after being distracted with the issue with his voice, she'd had a chance to calm down and was now ready to listen.

"**Affirmative, however there are several issues that needs to be addressed before we can begin any form of deployment."**

"Can't you just show up in that big crawler thing of yours and stomp on Guiche a few times?" she asked tiredly.

"**The MCV was never intended for combat and we lack the facilities to repair it should it become badly damaged."** he explained to her.

"Alright, so that idea is out." darn. She had really hoping to see Guiche's face when his precious Valkyries got stomped on by a giant black beetle. "What are these issues you mentioned?"

"**First of all, you are the only existing member of the Brotherhood of Nod present on this world. Therefore, all ranks and titles that would normally be spread out throughout the command structure default to you."**

She picked up a stick of charcoal she kept for writing notes and started doodling on a scrap of paper. She'd gotten the impression that Nod was a fairly large organization, but the way Legion was talking it was more like a whole country.

Something did occur to her though.

"Didn't you just say earlier that Nod was ruled entirely by this Prophet of yours?" she asked as she drew a crude impression of the blunted triangle from before.

"**Correct, but even [ERROR] could not be in all places at once. This unit was created to fulfill many of the functions that would normally be tasked to human operators, but some delegation was still required in order to reach maximum efficiency."**

"**Normally I would act as an intermediary between the Prophet and the Supreme Commander, preform necessary background tasks and assist in establishing battlefield control."**

"I guess that makes sense" Louise muttered. "not even the Founder himself could be everywhere at the same time. I don't think I'd be a very good Commander, though."

"**I will be able to supply tactical advice when the need arises. Nevertheless you are in control and I will refer to you as Commander whenever we are placed in a combat situation."**

"Will I have to wear a uniform with shiny buttons?" she asked, remembering seeing the pompous Generals at formal dinners at the Vallière estate with all their decorations.

"**It will be available should you wish it." **he told her. **"There are however no station-specific garb for the title of Prophet, and [ERROR] was often seen wearing nondescript black robes."**

Well she guessed that meant she didn't have to worry about that.

"**The second issue is that we do not currently have the facilities needed to produce Nod forces of any kind. Right now the only two buildings available for construction is the Tiberium Refinery and the Power Plant."**

Louise's confusion showed clear as day on her face as she tried to figure out what he meant by these two words. Power Plant? Refinery? She had never before heard the name Tiberium but maybe that was what they called oil or something.

To her relief, Legion continued before she could ask any stupid questions.

"**All Nod structures with the exception of the Construction Yard which produces its own, requires energy to function. The Nod Power Plant utilizes thermal power as a cheap and reliable power source, and can be upgraded with a Tiberium Reactor."**

She had taken to taking notes on what Legion was telling her, partly out of habit but also to help her remember all these familiar words. At one point she'd also replaced the piece of coal with her regular feather pen, and was just jotting down the words 'Tibirium React-or' with a big question mark next to it.

"What's this Tibirium you're talking about? I've heard you mention it before."

"**Tiberium is the substance on which all Nod technology is based and needs to be harvested from the fields it forms. Once it has been processed, it yields all of the materials necessary for the development of weapons, armor and propulsion."**

"So, what... you dig for it or something?" She could imagine a big, purple humanoid digging in the ground with a huge shovel and then mining it with an equally large pick-axe.

"**Tiberium is a non-carbon based mineral with a dense dynamic-proton lattice held together by exotic heavy particles. ****When Tiberium comes into contact with other matter, the heavy particles randomly collide with the nuclei of the target matter, smashing it to pieces or incrementally knocking off protons or neutrons . Tiberium captures a fraction of the protons that are ejected during this collision process and incorporates them into its own structure, thus transmuting matter into more Tiberium.****"**

By this point, Louise had completely abandoned the effort of taking notes and was sitting with her head resting in her hands. There were so many words and concepts that she had never heard of in her entire life, in fact she was pretty sure no one had.

"I have absolutely no idea what you just said." she groaned, unsure if she should feel bad about it or not. "Can't you give me the short version?"

"**It is a complicated substance that mankind has spent more than half a century researching. It is natural that much of it is currently beyond your grasp."**

Louise's head hit her desk with a thunk. "Then why in Brimir's name did you tell me all that?!"

"**Even if you do not understand it, you have been given the total sum of existing knowledge. I will attempt to simplify it, stand by."**

Stupid familiar!

"**To put it in the simplest way possible, Tiberium is a substance that leeches minerals and similar resources out of the ground and manifests it into large, crystalline growths on the surface. These can then be harvested using specialized equipment to yield easy-to-use resources which can be further processed into items or construction materials."**

"**Harvested fields will eventually re-grow, thus making all other forms of traditional resource gathering such as ore mining obselete."**

She turned her head sideways as she processed this information. What kind of world did Legion come from that such things not only existed, but was actually common practice? Still, she could certainly understand how such a substance could be useful.

Suddenly she sat up as a thought struck her. "But no such thing exists in Tristain! Or anywhere else on Halkeginia!"

"**This is of no issue, as the Construction Yard has a store of 10,000 units of liquid Tiberium to allow for rapid base deployment. Normally it is not required due to the abundance of naturally-occurring growths, but it is possible to artificially seed Tiberium to acquire a fresh patch."**

"**It will be noted that raw Tiberium is hazardous to all forms of carbon-based life, and is very difficult to contain once it has started growing."**

Louise's shoulders slumped. This was starting to become a habit, it seemed. "So it's hopeless, then."

A few seconds passed as Legion pondered something, and delivered it in a hesitant tone she'd never heard from him before.

"**Perhaps not. Halkeginia possesses unknown energy manipulation techniques that have never been actually observed in Earth's history."**

"Ehhh?" her eyebrows rose to full tilt. "Your world is named dirt?"

"**It is named Earth because it is which we stand upon."**

"Right..." now she just felt silly. It did make logic sense, but it just sounded dull. Wait.

"There's no magic on your world? None at all?!" she practically shouted, the thought so foreign she'd be less surprised if there was no Sun in the sky.

How was that even possible?

"**Although all known cultures have developed the concept of magic and it features heavily within all religions in some form, it has never been proven to exist. It is fully possible that such an unknown factor could prove the key to controlling Tiberium, it is entirely hypothetical at this point in time."**

"Alright I get it." She rubbed her forehead, slowly feeling a headache coming on. "Would it be possible to use regular steel and such instead of Tiberium?"

"**It would be possible to insert refined metals into the production cycles as a replacement for raw materials, but it would be far more expensive than standardized processing."**

"Uuuuu... and I don't have a lot of money." she whined, poking her tongue out in frustration. "Couldn't we just use raw ores? Those shouldn't be as expensive."

"**We do not currently possess the equipment to effectively handle traditional ores, and any attempts at re-purposing established equipment would inevitably lead to a loss in product quality."**

"And that might be bad, I get it." she sighed. "And I don't want to accidentally cause a natural catastrophe if I can't avoid it. How long will our current stores last before we have to find out a way to get more?"

"**My calculations are based on large-scale warfare, but constructing a single Power Plant will in turn allow for the construction of a Hand of Nod. It is the primary facility for the training and housing of Nod's infantry corps, and will allow access to the basic soldiers."**

"But didn't you say there were no one else here than me?" she asked.

"**Nod cybernetic technology is highly advanced, there are many designs for Nod cyborgs that can be altered into fully mechanical designs."**

"Mechanical? You mean I'll have access to golems?!" a crazed smile spread across Louise's face, all her misgivings washed away by a tide of glee.

"**Golem: 1. An artificial human being in Hebrew folklore endowed with life. 2. Something or someone resembling a golem such as an automaton."**

He recited as if reading it out of textbook, which for all she knew he might have been doing somehow. It was a little lacking, but mostly accurate all the same.

"Golem is a general term used to describe magical constructs created by- and controlled by a mage." she recited from memory. "Many different types exist as you can theoretically make a golem out of any material, but the most common ones are earth and metal golems."

"**Acknowledged."**

"**The logbook entry: _Golem_ has been updated."**

"Oh, good-" she interrupted herself with a loud yawn. It was getting very late and all this new information was making her mind very heavy. "work Legion. How long will it take to construct the extra buildings?" she asked as she stood up and made her way towards her bed.

"**Each building will take several hours to complete, and must be placed within the Construction Yard's area of influence."**

She unclasped her cloak and tossed it in the clothes hamper to be washed, the rest of her clothes soon following.

"**Normally, the Commander supervises this placement through the overhead command interface. However, I do not know how you will be able to access this."**

"S'ok." She mumbled as she wiggled into her nightgown and climbed into her bed. "Mebbe I'll do it in mah dreams again."

Blowing out the candle by her bedside, she snuggled into the comfortable blankets and pillows and let out a content sigh. As she slowly felt herself falling asleep, a thought struck her and she struggled to stay awake long enough to voice it.

"Leig'n."

"**Yes, Master?"**

"C'ld you wake meh up tomorrow?"

"**As you command."**

Satisfied with the answer, she let herself sleep take her and was soon completely out cold.

"**Construction in progress."**

* * *

In another part of the Academy, a different type of discussion was taking place.

Jean Colbert was not at all pleased with the good Headmaster, nor was Mrs. Chevreuse who had happened to walk in on them. Old Osmond as usual was being extremely calm about the whole thing and was peacefully feeding Motsognir while they yelled at him.

"This is unacceptable, Headmaster!" Colbert all but shouted as he slammed his palms into the hardwood desk, causing pens and teacups to rattle. "Dueling are _forbidden_ between students!"

"Someone could get hurt, Sir Osmond." Mrs. Chevreuse chimed in.

She was a plump, middle-aged woman who had joined the Academy recently to fill the Earth Professor post. Although she had yet to meet Louise de la Vallière and didn't want to believe many of the rumors about her, she had taking a liking to Guiche and already considered him a good student.

"Think about the children! If poor Guiche got hurt, his grades might suffer!"

Both of the men thought it was a very thin reasoning, but none of them felt particularly like calling her out on it. Instead, Colbert kept pushing his point.

"We don't even know what la Vallière's familiar is capable of. What if it tramples someone by accident?"

"Which is exactly why we should allow the duel Mr. Cruton!"

"It's Colbert, Headmaster!"

Osmond completely ignored the correction and continued unabated. "If we allow this to go down as intended, we'll know exactly what kind of familiar she has. This will lead to us being able to tell what kind of mage she is so that we can help her better." He calmly explained.

"Hmm." Mrs. Chevreuse said to herself. "I've heard she had some issues getting her spells to work, so it might not be a bad idea."

"Mrs. Chevreuse!" Colbert exclaimed, holding his hands out for emphasis. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh calm down, Professor." Osmond said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye as he pushed some herb mix into his smoking pipe with his thumb.

"Why, we had these kind of duels all the time when I was a boy!" He exclaimed.

Colbert wasn't convinced as he folded his arms and gave the Headmaster a suspicious look.

"And how many were seriously hurt, if not killed during these duels?"

"Oh, not more than a handful..."

"Hmm, well I suppose."

"...per day."

"Headmaster!"

"Besides!" Headmaster Osmond said jovially as he lit his pipe. "It will give the children a nice opportunity to unwind. Schoolwork is hard, you know!"

Mrs. Chevreuse nodded sagely and Colbert's palm met his forehead with a loud smack.

"If you are so worried, then maybe you can oversee the duel Mr. Colbert."

He started to reply "It's..." but realized Osmond had actually gotten it right this time.

"I still don't think it's a very good idea to let it happen, but if it will help keep the injuries down to a minimum I might as well." he said with a defeated sigh.

"Splendid!" Old Osmond said with a bright smile, and Colbert was pretty sure he'd been manipulated somehow. "I'll make sure to inform Miss Longueville and we can all discuss it over tea afterward!"

Colbert could only groan.

* * *

Once more, Louise dreamt of things she had never seen before.

_It was said that everything and everyone that you saw in your dreams were things you had at some point seen in your life, but she was completely certain that she had never seen this man before. He was a tall man dressed in robes of cloth and leather that were so dark they seemed to drink in the light. He was completely bald and was mostly covered by a metal helmet that reached down over the left side._

_He was standing behind two rows of squares of some kind that were suspended on rods, and the only light in the cramped room was red. Dust was raining down every so often and she could hear muffled explosions from the outside._

_As he stepped closer to the squares, she heard an odd chattering noise_ _as they seemed to lit up,_ _casting additional red light up upon the man._

_He spoke in a smooth voice that carried the ethereal kind of quality that she often heard from preachers, and although she did not recognize the words she understood their meaning._

"_They have abandoned us, my child."_

_He looked up briefly as there was a loud swish like a giant swinging a fully grown tree from the outside, and something fell from the ceiling with a clatter._

"_The Brotherhood of Nod has been broken." he growled, sounding as if he was speaking with his teeth clenched._

"_You are the only one who has not forsaken me."_

_Her vision seemed to fracture briefly into large squares before an image arose unbidden to the left of her vision. She saw musket-carrying knights armored in gold and gray surging forward, tongues of fire leaping from the barrels of their weapons._

"_At this very moment" he continued. "McNeil and his GDI lackeys celebrate their victory in what they are calling the _Second Tiberium War._"_

_Images of another knight with some kind of glass helmet and then a curious, floating box with windows replaced the one to her left. It then became a long, flat box from which long rods of some kind were being ejected from a smaller box at the back of the first one, flames trailing in their wake._

"_They have the Tacitus,__" __the image switched to an enormous, golden-armored humanoid with a pair of blazing, multi-barreled muskets instead of arms. "but no understanding of its true purpose!"_

_A massive, square-shaped beast appeared this time, lightning was frozen above it and a tongue of flame leapt from the barrel mounted underneath its nose._

"_Our technology has failed us." An image of a blue, skull-like shape with glowing eyes surrounded by rippling waters replaced the beast. "Cabal... is no more."_

"Listen to the sounds of your own extinction."_ it hissed in a voice far worse than anything she had ever heard before._

"_Although his memory lives on." the man finished._

_The images disappeared completely and instead her vision focused on the man again._

"_Our enemies believe we have been defeated." her vision seemed to stretch, blurring at the ends as if a glass cone had suddenly been put in front of her eyes._

"_And that I am no longer among the living." the image grew rapidly as if she had stepped closer to him, and he filled her vision. "They are gravely mistaken."_

_She could see him in better detail now. __The black leather pauldrons, the curved decorations that ran across the top of his helmet, the little blunted triangle she now recognized as the symbol of Nod on his collar. Light glinted off the glass lens that covered his left eye as part of the helmet he wore, and his other eye seemed to bore into her soul._

"_You and I are all that remains, but all that is necessary." he spoke to her, carefully pronouncing each word._

"_For together we will raise a great army. Together we will show the world's downtrodden who the real enemy is!" he was almost working himself into a frenzy. "GDI promises them prosperity..."_

_He was shouting now. "But in the slums of the real, the homeless and hungry know the truth! They have been forgotten! They have NOTHING!"_

_He stared at her for a moment and just when she thought it was over, he continued. "But. Their. Anger."_

_Her vision shook as more explosions were heard from outside, and they sounded a lot closer now._

"_We will take that spark and start a fire that will start a GREAT CONFLAGRATION!" he cried._

"_PEACE THROUGH POWER!"_

* * *

And in the Academy, back in her body, Louise's lips mimicked those of the man in her dream.

"...peace...through...power..." she whispered against her pillow.

"**Peace through power."** Legion responded, unheard and unseen.

* * *

_Dreams as always came and left like leaves in a stiff autumn breeze. She was once more flying high in the air, yet at the same time she was still as her view of the ground did not change. She saw once more the glowing pink of her Construction Yard down below her._

_No, she was not flying she realized, she had become a _giant!

_Great in stride and purpose, the responsibility lay on _her_ shoulders to bring order to the world._

_In her right hand was an ornate hammer that sang of war and glory and peace within every swirl of its mother-of-pearl surface._

"_Serve the Worthy." it whispered._

_In her left hand she held the Blood of the Founder Brimir, shimmering green like all the emerald stars in the sky._

_She raised the hammer and struck it once for every chord of the song, and it was done._

"_**Construction complete."** Came the voice of her familiar and she looked down into her hand, and saw a new building in her palm. It was there and yet not at the same time, but she knew it contained great power._

_It slightly resembled an insect with a black, segmented carapace-like armor sweeping up from the ground and the symbol of Nod blazed on its back._

_It held within it a wide, spoked wheel or perhaps a flattened ball that glowed bright pink with a fierce, inner light._

_She took great care placing it on the ground and arranging it just so, and it vanished only to reappear out of the ground._

_However her work was not yet complete, and once again she raised the Hammer of War and Peace to meet the Blood of the Gods_

"_Protect the Innocent." it told her._

"_**Construction complete."** Legion whispered to her once again, and something new was pressed into the palm of her hand._

_A different, yet elegantly sloped building that although not as bright, also glowed with an inner light. _

_Rising out of its top was an arm, and at the end of that arm was a hand._

_That hand was holding the world in its hand._

_This too was carefully positioned, and once more it vanished only to reappear like a flower from a seed._

_And Louise saw that it was good._

* * *

"_**Awaken, my master."**_

Louise's eyes snapped open at that simple command and she groaned and tried to hide under the sheets as her head told her it was much too early.

"Blergeflergher." she mumbled insightfully.

"**It is now 05:46 and I have awoken you as per your instructions."**

"Ish too early."

"**The sun will rise in exactly 25 minutes, master. If you wish to get ready for your duel with proper attire and breakfast I suggest you start now."**

"Munyamunyamunya..." came the response from Louise as her mind started slipping back into the default sleep mode.

This would not do. The Prophet had given him a Task and he would see that it was followed to each and every letter. Browsing through the vast memories of Mankind, Legion selected what he felt was appropriate for the situation and looped it through his vocal circuits.

"**ON YOUR FEET, MAGGOT!"** came the voice of the stereotypical drill sergeant from a movie no one remembered anymore.

The result was instant however as Louise was out of her bed as fast as some professional soldiers, her subconscious mind reacting to the tone of voice even when her conscious mind didn't.

"Huh, wha?" She mumbled drunkenly as sleep began to fade from her mind. "Ugh... who said that?"

"**I did, master."**

"Legion?" she asked as she stumbled over to her wardrobe. "Why are you waking me up at this ungodly hour?"

"**Because you requested it last night."**

"I did?" off went the nightgown and she shivered slightly as her bare skin met the cool morning air. It served to help her wake up, though.

"**Your duel with Guiche de Gramont is due in T minus 23 minutes and counting."**

"That's a... strange way of counting time."

"**Was it unclear to you?"**

She frowned and found that despite the oddity of it, she had indeed understood the meaning of it perfectly. She grumbled slightly as she dressed herself and not until she successfully clasped her cloak around her shoulders did she respond.

"I guess not."

"**I am pleased to hear that. T minus 19 minutes and counting."**

"Would you stop that?!"

Making her way out of her room, Louise shot a quick glance over at Kirche's door but found it mercilessly closed and silent.

"_Not coming out to annoy me today, are you? Top-heavy cow!"_ She taunted within her own mind before she started down the hallway at a brisk walk.

The Alvíss Hall was completely empty to her great surprise, until she realized she was there much earlier than normal.

"_I bet the cooks aren't even up yet."_ she grumbled to herself as she instead made her way towards the kitchen.

As in any cultured and well-structured society, the kitchens were wall-in-wall with the hall where the food was served. She had been there before from time to time, mostly whenever she was doing research long into the night.

Therefore she had no problem finding where everything was and she was just about to make herself some toast when a voice startled her from behind.

"Well well, who would've thought I'd find a Noble in my kitchen this time in the morning?"

The head chef of the Academy was a bear of a man named Marteau. He seemed to always look the same every single time she saw him with the white chef's hat, white uniform with the sleeves rolled up and a red scarf around his neck.

He was not known for being overly friendly to Nobles despite the fact that he could easily be punished for nothing. The only thing that truly saved him was that he could somehow make any type of food taste incredibly good. So good in fact that not only did the Headmaster put up with him, he even sometimes joined in with his (usually bad) jokes about the nobility!

Louise swallowed reflexively as he towered over her by a good foot or so, and despite his nonthreatening stance she felt the urge to run.

However she stood her ground and held her head high despite the fear she felt, and she thought she saw a small glimmer of approval in his eyes.

Or it might just have been a trick of the light.

"T-there was no one in the Dining Hall so I was just going to make some toast!" she said as bravely and loudly as she could, but she thought it came out as more of a whisper.

He looked at her hard and long before he blew out a sigh and unceremoniously directed her towards a simple table that stood near one of the great stoves. "You know breakfast doesn't start until 6 AM sharp, right?"

"Yes of course, but I-"

"Sit down before you hurt yourself on something sharp, your ladyship."

She sank down in the chair and winced a little as her butt smacked against the uncushioned seat but said nothing as Marteau started bustling about in the kitchen.

She soon noticed that he was doing a lot more than just the plain toast she had intended, and it wasn't long until a delicious aroma had filled the large room.

"So I heard you stood up for one of my maids last night." He mentioned idly as he cracked a pair of quail eggs into a bowl with one hand while whisking it with the other.

"Ah, yes..." she mumbled in return.

"Speak up, girl!" he barked suddenly.

"Yes!" she responded without thinking, making him smirk a little. "Why?"

She blinked at the question. She hadn't really thought about why she did it, to be honest.

"I don't know." she confessed quietly. "I simply did it, I guess."

The large man hummed to himself as if he didn't really believe her and it wasn't until he had set out a perfect omelet with a side of lamb for her did she speak again.

"It wasn't right."

"Hmm?" he looked down at her, confused for a moment what she was talking about.

"The whole thing with Guiche and the maid." She whispered as she pressed the heels of her palms against her legs. "I couldn't allow him to blame her for his own failings. It went against _everything_ I have been taught as a Noble!"

"Hooh?" he mused as he folded his arms with a small smirk. "And here I thought it was because Siesta kept you from choking on a croissant or something."

To her credit, she didn't move an inch. Although he could see her ears getting red so he decided to have some mercy on the poor girl.

"I'm joking, I'm joking." he assured her.

"_Not bad, girl. Keep your head on straight and you might actually become a decent person one day."_ he thought to himself.

"Now eat up, you're gonna need your energy if you wanna defeat the Gramont boy!" he drawled.

She didn't need any more prompting than that.

The fact that it really _was_ delicious didn't hurt, either.

* * *

When she finally did arrive at the Vestri Court, the sun had just barely crested over the Academy wall and yet...

"Where the hell is he?!"

It was completely deserted.

As she stood there, a gust of wind blew across the empty field and a crow cawed in the distance. Somehow this just seemed to magnify the feeling that Guiche had stood her up. She gritted her teeth so hard she was sure they'd break when she realized _he was probably two-timing her, as well!_

"Aaarrrrgh!"

She just couldn't believe the nerve of that boy! Stomping across the grass of the now-repaired courtyard she started envisioning the various ways she could make him pay for not honoring the duel like a real noble.

"Legion! What time is it?" she spat.

"**06:08, master."**

And she had been here to see the sun rise, so it wasn't her who was late! Could this day get any worse?

"Yo-hoo! Louuiise!"

Urgh, she and her big mouth!

Walking, no, _bouncing_ out towards her came Kirche and her familiar followed by the ever-present Tabitha. Although it was hard to tell with the shorter of the two, they both appeared to be much too energetic at this early in the morning.

"Zerbst! What are you doing here?" Louise demanded.

"Oh don't be such a stick in the mud, Vallière." the voluptuous Germanian chided gently. "I just wanted to come and watch you and de Gramont get all fierce and worked up for each other!"

She shot her a highly suggestive glance as a coy smile graced her ruby-painted lips.

"Or... did you want him all for yourself?"

"Wha-what are you saying, Zerbst?!"

"Ahh, young love!" Kirche giggled as she held her clasped hands up against her cheek, wiggling a little on the spot. "I love it when you let your passion flow, Louise!"

"Shut up, you cow!"

Tabitha was too used to the teasing and bickering that these two always did, and she had just turned a page when her senses alerted her to a change in their environment.

"Students incoming." She voiced simply, cutting Louise off mid-tirade as she was ranting at Kirche about the advantages of not having enormous udders attached to your body.

Sure enough, students that had been in the Alvíss Hall for the challenge or had heard of it through gossip were coming out of the Academy in a steady stream. It almost looked like her entire sophomore year had come to watch! She could even see quite a few purple and brown cloaks mixed in as well, which meant that quite a few freshmen and juniors had come to watch as well.

"Oho?" Kirche smiled. "It looks like your little lovers' spat attracted quite the crowd, Louise."

"We're not lovers!" Louise shouted in embarassment. "And you're not much older than-mmph!"

She was cut off as the Germanian suddenly grabbed her in a hug, smushing her face into her ample bosom. "I'm so proud of you, Louise! You've finally started mature into a woman!" she chirped happily.

Louise flailed helplessly against Kirche's greater mass as she tried everything in her power to get free. She was starting to get light-headed from a combination of the perfume she wore and lack of air. The strength of this harpy! Years of dragging boys to her bedroom must have built up her strength to inhuman levels!

She was just about to resign herself to her fate when Tabitha's voice filtered in through the sound of Kirche's heartbeat and the blood rushing in her ears. "Guiche is here."

This caused her to release the little noble and Louise took several gulps of sweet, sweet oxygen. Her face was bright red and she had already been getting spots in her vision when she was finally let go.

"Oh Founder, I thought I was going to die." she gasped, barely noticing Kirche and Tabitha leaving.

Instead, a new voice came to her ears and she snapped her head up as Guiche de Gramont stood in front of her in all his frilly glory. Actually he was even more ridiculous-looking than normal with a shirt that not only showed off his hairless chest, but also had puffed up shoulders and extra frills around the sleeves.

"I see you're not above the pleasures of the flesh, Louise the Zero" he said with a smirk.

"You're quite the hypocrite, seeking the bosom of another woman while berating me for doing the same!"

"Shut up, Guiche!" she hissed at the offending boy. "Don't compare me with yourself, you philanderer!"

"Did you look that up before you came here, Vallière?" he replied without missing a beat. He held his petaled wand up to his face as if it was a real rose. "Someone like you who spends time only with books could never understand love the way I... do."

Tabitha looked up from her book and gave him the dullest of looks, but neither of the two noticed it nor when she went back to reading.

"Maybe if you didn't spend so much time fooling around you'd have been here at the correct time!"

He shrugged nonchalantly and instead of denying her accusation he simply took it in stride. "I can't help that women adore me, Vallière." he said theatrically. "If you weren't so frigid perhaps you would understand that, as well!"

"Why you-"

"Ahem."

Both of them paused in their battle of words to look to whoever had the courage to interrupt them and froze completely.

There stood Professor Colbert in his best teacher's robes, holding his staff in one hand as it rested on the ground while leveling a stare at the two students. He had the look on his face that any child who had ever done something bad knew and almost instinctively feared. It was one of anger and disappointment combined with the look of 'why-did-you-do-this-when-I-specifically-told-you-not-to?'.

They both shrank back from his gaze and without knowing it, both pictured rolling storm clouds above the furious professor's head.

"You two" he growled at them "are in _serious_ trouble."

For a moment they thought he would strike them down where they stood and shuffle some dirt over their mangled corpses, but then the moment was broken when he suddenly let out a loud sigh. "Or so I'd like to tell you?"

"Eh?" "What?" They both asked at the same time, only to stop and glare at the other.

The balding professor had to clear his throat once more to make them refocus their attention on him before he continued.

"For some reason and despite my own vehement objections, Headmaster Osmond have decided to allow this duel."

This time, both of them were wise enough not to try interject anything else, and held their tongues while they waited for him to continue.

"Therefore as your teacher I have decided to act as the impartial judge of this duel, and I will do so according to the dueling laws laid down by our Founder." he told them with a voice of firm resolution, taking care to pronounce each word. "Thus you will respect my judgment and will not question me or my decisions. If and when the say the fight is over, the fight is over. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor!" they both shouted in unison.

Colbert started to pace around the circle that had been formed by the now highly-attentive crowd of students around the two duelers. Even Tabitha had decided to put down her book and was watching them with a kind of detached boredom.

"Will you battle the other directly or through any form of proxy?"

"By proxy." came the answer from both once again, although this time Guiche couldn't help himself.

"And what exactly are you going to fight with, hm?" he taunted her. "I'm afraid your army of imaginary friends isn't going to cut it this time."

Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, Colbert had to agree with the Gramont boy. He had seen the dug-in building that Louise's familiar had become with his own eyes, and the summoning of golems required a certain amount of skill.

A skill that while it was a little awkward and unpolished, Guiche did indeed possess.

"They're not imaginary!" she shouted at him, making him smirk as he got the rise out of her that he wanted. "They're just... late." she finished lamely.

Turning away from them she drew her wand and whispered under her breath. "Legion, please tell me something _is_ coming?"

"**Affirmative. The mechanoids were dispatched to your location less than 15 minutes ago."**

She bit her lip. It had taken her and Professor Colbert about 20 minutes to get to the location by foot. She really, really hoped that these mech-whatsit were faster than that.

"Hm. Well until miss Vallière's fighters arrive, why don't you summon yours Mr. Gramont?"

He knew this was hedging it a bit when it came to his promised impartiality, but this had been against the poor girl from the start. He would have no choice but to declare it her loss if nothing did arrive, but he could buy her a little more time for them to arrive.

"Very well." Guiche said, and with a flick of his wand, four petals dislodged from the rose shape he had fashioned it into and flew out into the air. "Come! Bronze golem, Valkyrie!"

Each of the petals flashed once before manifesting into tall humanoid suit of armors made from polished bronze. All in the shapes of women, they had thin waists, wide hips and the breastplates were shaped in such a fashion as to resemble generous bosoms.

Louise wasn't very impressed, and she made no attempts to hide it.

"Really, Guiche? You made them into _female_ golems?" she snarked at him. "Have you no shame?"

"Of course! Even _you_ should know I have the utmost respect for the beautiful, sweeping curves of the womanly form." he replied in his usual, airy fashion.

"Really? Because they don't look anything like the real deal."

"And what would you know about that, Zero? You who might as well be a boy for all the development you've had!"

Louise grit her teeth at that, her lack of curves was a sore point to her and she really hated it when someone pointed it out. It took a herculean effort of willpower not to retort as she waited for him to fall in the hole he'd dug for himself.

"While me on the other hand have done great amounts of research! And these beautiful Valkyries of mine reflect it!"

"Oh?" came the voice of Montmorency from behind him. "I would like to hear more about this... 'research' of yours." she said from where she stood with her arms folded and a sour look on her face.

To his credit, Guiche seemed to realize what he'd admitted to and tried to backpedal. "W-well I..."

Crunch. Clatter.

All students and Professor Colbert who had been watching the exchange with a combination of exasperation and amusement turned to look at the spot where la Vallière's familiar had smashed through the wall of the Academy. No one had bothered to even try fixing it yet, but that was far from anybody's mind as a black-armored man appeared on the pile of brick and mortar.

Then another, and another, and another.

This early in the morning, that particular section of the wall just so happened to be in the shade and more details became apparent as they stepped out into the light. In stark difference to Guiche's rather gaudy golems, these were covered completely from head to toe in sleek, form fitting black armor. Offset slightly by the pale pink accents and the blunted-triangle symbol of Nod that decorated their pauldrons, the students nevertheless parted before them as quickly as they could as they marched towards their Master.

And march they did. It chilled Colbert to the bone how even though they came over the ruined wall one by one, they fell perfectly in step with each other the moment they touched the ground. The front visors of their helmets were an opaque crimson and each one carried what looked vaguely like a musket, but only in the sense that a butter knife resembled a sword.

When they first appeared his first instinct had been to question who they were and why they had come, but as they lined up in front of Louise he could see that each one was the exact same size as the other. This was a feat that was very difficult to achieve when people were involved, as everyone had slight differences in height and build.

But this made no sense! Unless...

"_Did she actually manage to summon a Dollmaker?"_

Dollmaker was a general term used to describe a type of familiar that could, in turn, summon additional familiars of their own. Often these were humanoids of various sizes, closely resembling the dolls for which they were named. They were fairly rare and whoever had the luck to summon one was considered likely to become a great leader in the future. It was said that the first King of Tristain, Albertus William Tristean the First had been the master of a Dollmaker. It had supplied him with a nearly inexhaustible supply of durable shock troops which in turn had allowed him to conquer the land now named after him.

Hushed whispers started immediately as the grim line of stood perfectly still before their Master, and Guiche for all his bravado could not help the growing feeling that he just might had bitten off more than he could chew.

"Those aren't golems, are they?"

"They look more like people, to me."

"No, no! Look how everything about them are uniform!"

"I thought you said she summoned a giant bug, not a private army!"

Had he? No! This had to be a trick of some kind, Guiche reasoned to himself.

There was absolutely no way that _Louise the Zero_ could have somehow gained additional familiars (because that would have been heresy, if nothing else!) and if they were truly golems, why hadn't she just summoned them like a real mage? Luckily, he knew just the thing to put her in her place!

"Professor!" he shouted to gain Colbert's attention.

"Isn't it customary to use the _Animus Domini_ spell for official duels?" he asked innocently.

The Professor frowned, that was not a normal spell for a mage of his age to have even heard about.

_Animus Domini_ meaning "Intent to be Owner" in Ancient Brimirian , was an ancient spell that had been used for millennia in order to settle minor disputes over ownership between mages. The idea was that all mages left behind a form of magical residue on things they considered important to them, and the spell's purpose was to trace that residue back to its source. It required very little willpower and could be cast by any mage with only the two words of its name, illuminating said residue according to their element.

Red for Fire, blue for Water, white for Wind and yellow for Earth. No one was quite sure what the color of Void was and sometimes odd colors appeared, but unless it was cast by many people at once it was fairly reliable. In fact, a great deal of people had tried to lay claim to its creation and some arguments about it had lasted for _decades._

In the end, tired of the constant bickering over a simple utility spell, the Church put it's foot down and declared that it was created by none other than the Founder Brimir himself! Not surprisingly, all arguments over whom it belonged to ceased practically overnight as no one wanted to be tried for blasphemy.

"Very well then, Mr. Gramont." Colbert eventually agreed. "Since you appear to know it, why don't you go first?"

"But of course!" he replied with a flourish, holding his wand out in front of him. _"Animus Domini!"_

In less than a heartbeat, both the tip of his wand and his bronze golems were engulfed in a shimmering haze the color of sun-baked earth, signifying that those were indeed his.

Professor Colbert nodded in satisfaction before turning to Louise who was looking slightly less sure than she had a moment ago. "And now you, miss Vallière."

She hesitated for a moment in casting a spell she'd never even heard of, steeling herself she copied Guiche's movement with her own wand and called out the name of the spell.

"_Animus Domini!"_

A haze of color in the same color as her hair surrounded the tip of her wand and despite the lack of an explosion, she feared for a moment that she had failed. But then a row of runes flashed into existence on the back of the left hand of each of the dark soldiers, clearly visible to all where they rested on top of their muskets.

"No way!"

"They actually _do_ belong to Louise?!"

"My eyes must be deceiving me!"

"Surely this must be a trick of some kind."

"Yeah! Where's all the explosions?"

"Who are you and what have you done with her Zero?"

Finally having enough of the whispers, Colbert slammed the end of his staff into the ground and a huge gout of fire erupted from the top. "If you are all quite done bickering like schoolchildren!"

"But Professor... we _are_ schoolchildren."

He chose to ignore that and instead pressed on. "This is the spell of our most Holy Founder and will not be questioned!"

Satisfied with the silence that followed, he then held his staff out and chanted the traditional Oath of the Battle. "O great Father Brimir, I ask that you turn your eyes to this battle and bless whomever is its victor in Your name."

"In Your name." the crowd echoed as he stepped back, allowing the Louise and Guiche to face each other properly.

A long silence passed between them as the wind whispered against the stonework of the castle, and made the grass billow like waves upon the sea.

She expected him to try to engage her in some kind of pre-battle quip, but was surprised when he suddenly threw his hand forward.

"Valkyries, attack!" he shouted, and his brass golems shot forward the moment the last syllable had left his lips.

Not going to be outdone, she copied his actions and said the first words that came to her.

"Fight for Nod!" and just like the golems that opposed her, the reaction was instant.

All four snapped their weapons up with perfect synchronization, and four sharp cracks rang out across the Vestri Court.

Bronze was better than iron but inferior to steel, and before this moment no one would have believed it if someone had said that soft lead wrapped in copper would be used to defeat it. They were wrong.

Large holes were punched through decorative helmets as they were penetrated by 5.56 millimeter Jacketed Hollow Points and were reduced to scrap. Normally, JHP was ineffective against armor but the armor in question was not nearly as tough as that which that statement was based on.

Guiche and everyone that hadn't already hit the dirt at the sound of the detonations felt their mouths hang open at the sheer destruction wrought by a single volley from those black golems.

She herself had just barely had time to slap her hands over her ears but now she grinned like the cat that caught the canary. Setting her hands on her hips she laughed in a similar way that her tormentors did whenever she had messed up in the past.

"Bwahahaha! Did you really think you could defeat me with such weak golems?" she taunted him gleefully. "Maybe you should change your name from 'Guiche the Bronze' to 'Guiche the Wet Paper!'"

"Grrr..." now it was his turn to be angry.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go down! He was supposed to be victorious in this battle, not the no-talent Vallière!

With some effort he collected himself back together, and the change on his face made her stop laughing.

"Oh but you forget one thing, Zero!"

"Oh really?" she asked him. "It appears to me that you have lost all your pawns while I still have mine."

"Indeed so."

Louise frowned a little, she didn't expect him to admit it. "Then what are you going on about? Submit!"

"I will not submit!" he smiled. "...as long as I still have MORE VALKYRIES!"

"_Crap!"_ she thought as she realized what he was doing. _"I forgot that each of those stupid petals is another one of his golems!"_

With a sweep of his wand, every one of the petals of his rose wand came off and swirled around him for a moment before they manifested fully.

Surrounded by no less than five times his original amount (and incidentally, the number of golems Louise had) it was now his turn to laugh.

"I outnumber you five to one, Louise the Zero!" he cried triumphantly. "Your toy soldiers have fired their bullets and have yet to reload, they won't stand up to my Valkyries now!"

"Surrender now and you will not be harmed!"

He paused a moment for effect. "...much!"

Colbert couldn't help but frown at this rather telling show of poor sportsmanship, but at the same time he knew he couldn't really interfere at this point.

"_Suffering to the conquered, eh?"_ he thought, remembering the old adage often used for duels. He'd step in if he deemed that neither could continue fighting, but until that point Guiche had practically free reins.

Louise frowned as she realized the truth of his statement. Had she become overconfident because of her previous victory?

As the bronze golems that represented her enemy, she resolved that even if she did go down, she would do so as a Noble!

"Soldiers!" she called out, and her four black golems instantly came to attention. "Hold your weapons high!"

A series of clicks echoed through the courtyard as they raised their muskets to their shoulders, although it took her a moment to realize it did in fact come from them.

"_Clickety-click?"_

This time, Guiche didn't even bother with a fancy move and with a vain toss of his golden locks, he called out his orders. "Destroy them."

As they surged forward, Louise didn't have the chance to give one of her own when to her surprise, her soldiers spoke in deep, metallic voices.

"**In the name of Louise!"**

And no one really expected what happened next.

For each time a musket was fired, the shooter needed to first pour in the black powder, push it in with a ramrod, drop in the lead ball and then push it down as well. This was the generally accepted method and since any mage worth his salt could easily defeat a musketeer, nobody had bothered to try and advance the technology and it was considered perfected.

Thus it was of great surprise as Guiche's mighty Valkyries were positively _shredded in a storm of metal_ as her golems, her _Militants_ fired their weapons at full auto.

The only reason that none of the students got hurt was that they had all quickly moved away from where these terrifying black golems had been pointing their weapons, and thus avoided an otherwise grisly fate.

Louise watched grimly as the mighty guns supplied by Legion turned the enemy into what was basically metallic confetti, peppering Guiche with sharp metal shards in the process.

He had taken a lucky, glancing blow to the side which had felled him like a sack of potatoes and just barely had time to curl up in fetal position as his creations were spread across the field.

The thunderstorm was over as soon as it came, as the soldiers let go of the triggers the moment the last Valkyrie was down in a show of perfect trigger discipline. Her ears were ringing from the rapport of their guns, and her nose wrinkled at the unfamiliar scent of burnt Cordite, but she had won.

"N-no more." Guiche whimpered from the ground where he lay bleeding. It was just a fleshwound, but he had no idea what the word even meant and by this point was completely certain that he'd never see another day.

Shards of bronze crunched under black-armored combat boots as the four identical soldiers stepped up to the boy. One of them looked over to Louise and spoke in the same metallic voice that although similar, did not belong to Legion.

"**Your orders, Commander?"**

"Please, no more! I give up!" he wailed in terror as he looked up with one eye at the four above. "I'll do anything! Just spare me!"

"It's alright, the fight is over." she said, somewhat numbly. Realization setting in at what she had just subjected him to. "You.. um.. may return to base." she finished quietly.

"**By your command."**

Guiche continued sobbing in shock and terror, too frightened to feel the pain, and she looked down at the him as she waited for her ears to stop ringing. Distantly, she heard someone calling for a healer and she wasn't quite sure if this had been what she wanted.

Colbert swallowed hard as he watched the Academy healers rush in and levitate Guiche away to be fixed, and unknowingly he had the same thought running through his head as everyone else.

"_Louise had summoned her own personal Death Squad."_

"The winner is... Louise de la Vallière." he said quietly into the still air that still smelled like gunfire and fear.

* * *

Well, this ended a bit darker than I originally anticipated, but at least no one was killed? I'd been wanting to write this part for ages now and I hope I didn't disappoint anyone.

Yeah I kind of made up the concepts of _Animus Domini_ and a Dollmaker, as well as the name for the first king of Tristain. I don't remember ever seeing them officially name one, but I figured since they had a Royal House there must have been one. Hopefully I didn't offend anyone with that, haha.

As always, please leave a review.


	4. Worry not, my fair Lady!

Some of you might notice that I've started using a little bit of Japanese in this chapter, but I felt it was about time since the show _is_ from Japan. When I've been doing my research I keep coming across titles and such in Japanese, so I decided to start putting them in. It won't be a whole lot since I don't actually _speak_ very much of it, but there'll be a little more than before.

**NOTE: I have since realized that this was a stupid idea thanks to you my dear readers, and will not feature after this chapter. I thought it was a good idea after poking through the ZnT wikis, I was wrong.**

I also wanted to thank you guys for being so supportive of my writing. I know I've been ranting a lot about it, but it just makes me so happy! I don't want to be the guy who doesn't listen to his reviewers, which I've sometimes encountered myself as a reader, so I just wanted to say how grateful I am.

You all rock!

Disclaimer: Should I put something silly here? Nah, you guys know how things work.

* * *

Chapter 4

Worry not, my fair Lady!

* * *

The ticking of the antique grandfather clock in the Headmaster's office seemed to fill the entire room with its steady, ceaseless beat. Steam wafted lazily from cooling, amber liquid that sat untouched in their teacups.

Miss Longueville had left soon after serving the two men who now sat in quiet contemplation, wisely choosing to make herself scarce as the atmosphere had become too much even for her. They had been sitting like this ever since Colbert had returned from overseeing the duel earlier that morning, a full two hours ago, and no amount of lame attempts at jokes or talk of paperwork seemed to budge them.

Old Osmond hadn't even moved a single inch beyond stroking Motsognir every so often when she leaned over to pour the tea, putting her shapely rear well within reach. Normally she had to beat him off with a stick! Professor Colbert likewise had just been sitting there, his hands folded with his elbows resting on his legs. Staring into the now-lukewarm tea as if it held all the answers to the universe and everything.

So she had excused herself and left under the pretense of some random task, her heels clicking against the stones as she hurried out of the room. This would be a perfect opportunity to check the seals on the Academy vault, she told herself. But even then her heart wasn't even in it, seeing the events of the duel had shaken her, as well.

They had both watched the duel through the Magic Mirror that the Headmaster possessed, and had both witnessed the destruction wrought by the Black Golems. It had _completely_ eclipsed any expectations or predictions either of the three had about the power of miss Vallière's familiar.

What kind of place had these things come from that required such awesome destructive forces, this land of Nod?

"How is de Gramont doing?" Osmond asked at last when the tea had finally cooled enough that no steam could longer be seen coming from the two cups.

"He's doing well, all things considered." Colbert responded, having awaited the question since he visited the boy in the Infirmary.

"The Head Physician told me that the bullet had missed all vital organs and arteries." he said in the detached tone of someone who had seen much worse. "Healing him required no more than the standard reagents, he should be fine after he's had some rest."

"Good, good..." the aging Headmaster said, more satisfied that one of his students hadn't had to have a life on her conscience than any medical bill. Founder only knew how she was feeling right now after such a violent event. "And the shrapnel from his golems?"

Colbert seemed to relax a little as he had finally had the chance to make his report plus how well Osmond appeared to be taking it. "All of it skin-deep, he made a bit of a fuss when they removed it and he'll have a few scars, but nothing that can't be corrected later."

He reached into the pocket of his robes and produced a handful of copper nuggets that he set on the desk. "I was also able to recover these from the Vestri court. The ones that struck de Gramont's golems and the walls were too damaged from the force of the impact, but i found these stuck in the ground."

"Hmm? These resemble no musket balls I've ever seen." the older man remarked. "Why would they make them out of copper?" he wondered, but got his answer as he went to pick one up.

First of all they were _far_ heavier than a lump of copper in the same size should be. And as he rolled it between his thumb and index finger, he found a shallow hole in what he assumed to be the tip in which he could see a blueish-gray kind of color. Lead?

"When I split one of them I found that only the outer layer is copper, and the rest of it is filled up with lead just like that of a regular musket ball." Colbert explained to him. "I can only speculate why they're made this way, but I think it may be to improve the way it moves through the air."

"What about these strange grooves that have been cut all the way along the sides?"

"I honestly don't know sir, they're as much a mystery to me as they are to you. But I was thinking I'd call these types of projectiles 'copper-robed'." the Professor said.

"Copper-robed, eh? I was thinking of 'copper-mantled', myself!"

"But a mantle or cape is worn open in the front, robes cover you completely."

"What about 'copper-jacketed'?"

The two men paused for a few seconds to ponder this and then simultaneously shook their heads. That just sounded stupid!

Eventually, the Headmaster let out a deep sigh before finally picking up his cup of tea and took a long sip of it. Not caring that it was now basically room temperature, he drained the cup halfway before setting it down on the saucer with a faint click.

"Headmaster..."

"Yes, Mr. Colbert?"

"What do you want to do about miss Vallière's familiar?" he asked, finally having the courage to ask the loaded question on his mind. "It's obviously very dangerous, but at the same time..." he trailed off.

"Neither she nor it truly did anything wrong." the older man agreed, slowly stroking his beard. "She followed the rules of the engagement to the letter and proved through_ Animus Domini_ that they were who she said they were. She even spared the boy even though she was well within her right to kill him."

Such were the rules of dueling that whoever had accepted a duel were at the mercy of the winner, as said to be penned by the Founder Brimir's own hand. Therefore it was held above the standard law in all Brimiric countries and dying in a duel was considered the same as falling in battle.

It did prove a good judge of character, however. Not many had the strength to resist the urge to strike down one who had tormented them when they had a chance to do so without repercussion.

_"Perhaps this will not turn out as bad as I'd feared."_ Colbert thought with a certain measure of hope.

"Although we cannot simply allow this event to slide." Osmond continued, "Even if we do not punish her for it, this will be an excellent time to teach her that there are always consequences to your actions."

"True enough. What would you suggest us do, then?"

As the older mage hmmed and hemmed as he thought about the issue, Colbert went back to studying the little piece of metal that had caused so much destruction. The grooves were indeed a mystery, although there was a nagging thought in the back of his head that they must add to their stability somehow.

"I think," Colbert's head snapped back up to the elderly Headmaster as he suddenly spoke. "that this whole mess was not about whether or not she won, but about a sense of helplessness. The inability to defend yourself."

"Er... you think so?" he was pretty certain it had something to do with de Gramont's tendency for two-timing, possibly involving that maid, but he thought he'd let Osmond finish.

"Indeed! I believe that since miss Vallière's magic is not at all suited for self defense, she felt the need to take radical action through her familiar."

The Professor had to raise an eyebrow at this. Louise was easily the most destructive person in the entire school if you didn't count the teachers, having caused more damage than any other student he knew of.

"Are you... sure, Headmaster? With her explosions she could probably hold off an entire team of bandits all on her own."

"Ah, but that's exactly it!" Osmond exclaimed, holding one finger up in the air. "From all the classrooms she'd demolished, I am certain that if she cast it on another person the results would be horrific!"

"I... hm. You may have a point." he reluctantly agreed, having seen firsthand the destruction wrought by a single spell. And that wasn't even counting the borderline cataclysmic event that was her familiar summoning.

"Therefore I believe that it would be within everyone's best interests if we could give her a weapon of some kind. It wouldn't have to be anything big, a knife or perhaps a rapier would probably suffice."

Now it was Colbert's time to sigh.

"_Old Osmond and his crazy ideas! I don't see how this could possibly end well."_ he thought to himself, out loud he said: "You think it might make her feel better by instilling a sense of safety knowing she is armed?"

"Yes! And I would be most pleased if you could accompany her in order to make sure she gets something that fits her."

Seeing that he would have no chance of changing the Headmaster's mind, Colbert decided to just humor the old man. Maybe it might actually work?

"Alright then, I'll go out with her on the Day of the Void." he finally agreed.

"Splendid!" Osmond said, clapping his hands together as if to seal the deal. "Oh, and make sure you get one that looks nice!"

"Of course, sir."

"And not too expensive!"

"Yes."

"Good! Now, where did miss Longueville run off to?" he asked out of the blue, suddenly remembering he never saw her leave. "Have you seen her, Mr. Compton?"

"It's Colbert!"

* * *

The faint rattle of porcelain and the steady creak of little wheels echoed down one of the many corridors of the student dorms. Lady Vallière had vanished after the duel in the Vestri Court, and no one had seen as much of a glimpse of her since. Lunch had been a very quiet affair as nearly all students had opted to eat in their rooms, scared out of their wits that Louise might come after them next. Even people who had never even said as much as a word to her in the entire time they had been in the school together felt this, including those who had only heard of the duel second-hand.

They were all terrified that at any moment, those terrifying Black Golems would show up and fill the air with thunder and death. It far outpaced any fear of punishment for missing classes, as serving detentions for the rest of the semester was still a preferable alternative to death.

However when both lunch and tea-time came and went without any rumors, screams, explosions or the roar of automatic weapons people slowly started peeking out of their rooms. Students ran across and down the halls in full sprints in order to reach the relative safety of their friends, and rumors flowed like the rivers in spring.

When the clock struck for dinner, they finally dared to slowly and cautiously make their way towards the Alvíss Dining Hall.

Jumping at even the slightest of noises. They all felt like rabbits caught in the middle of the night out in the deepest parts of the forest, knowing that a fox or wolf might appear at any time. Not only that, but they were probably working together in order to be able to better catch them off guard!

So when the students finally did arrive, they did so pale and sweaty from stress and fear. The serving staff watched this with no small amount of humor, since la Vallière had fought and almost killed for the sake of one of their own they had no fear of her.

Indeed, the Head Chef had even been boasting in the kitchen how it was his superb cooking that had led to her decisive victory, calling her things like "Our Shield" and "The Great Defender". They actually had to try and calm him down so that the skittish Nobles that finally came for dinner wouldn't hear him. Who knows what kind of panic would ensue if they heard someone shouting?

Maybe they'd even soil themselves where they stood and then trample each other in their panicked rush to escape. The servants didn't even want to imagine the kind of mess that would cause!

Thus, dinner was a very quiet, very careful affair. They all made sure to wear padded shoes and move with deliberate, carefully controlled amounts of noise. Some of them jumped anyway when the servants appeared with the food, but in doing this they successfully avoided any serious panic.

None of them even voiced their usual complaints and actually made very polite requests for their desired dishes. Their voices were quiet and lacked nearly all of their normal, passive scorn, and sat completely still as the servants set out their orders for them.

Heck, they even thanked them afterwards!

All discussions were made in hushed voices where many were shushed by their neighbors for talking too loud. After they had eaten, they all got up and left back to their dorms leaving the servants to bring away the dirty dishes and clean up.

All in all, it was probably the easiest day they'd ever experienced while working for the Academy.

However, the guest of honor herself had never shown up which was why Siesta was now taking a trolley loaded with all of Louise's favorite foods to her room.

Many of them had been made personally by Marteau himself, insisting that he had promised to cook for her did she win. He even went down to the cellar and got one of the best wines they had, a bottle of _Chateau de Tristain_. A small stock of this most prestigious of all wines was kept by the Academy in case they were receiving Royalty or other Nobles of high acclaim. This was wine made from grapes grown, hand picked and expertly prepared in the Royal Wineyard in the capitol of Tristania.

Originally built to accommodate only the Royalty, the wineyards had grown in size and skill over the centuries until the supply eclipsed the demand. Therefore it was also sold to the common man, provided of course they could afford it.

Nonetheless it _was_ beyond the shadow of a doubt an excellent vintage rich in taste and flavor, and Siesta really hoped that she would appreciate it.

Once she finally arrived, she gave the door the customary three knocks and called out to the person on the other side.

"Lady Vallière, I have brought you your dinner."

Several seconds passed and no answer came. This normally meant that the person in question was out somewhere or asleep, but she knew this was not the case this time. If living with 7 younger siblings had taught her _anything_, it was how to tell when someone was only pretending in order to be left alone.

"Lady Vallière, I know you can hear me. Please open the door."

"Go 'way." came the muffled response at last, making Siesta smile in triumph.

"_Got you."_

"Please, you haven't eaten since early this morning and I know for a fact you haven't gone outside the door since. You must be absolutely famished by now, and I've got all your favorite dishes right here!"

On the other side of the door, Louise bit her lip hard as she tried to ignore not only the painful hole that was her stomach, but also that evil siren's song! The commoner maid was completely right on both accounts, having been lying in bed since she got back from the duel. She'd lain there for over 12 hours straight, thinking of the duel and what she had done.

How could she show her face when she did the equivalent of smashing an ant with a fireball?

But she really was hungry. Enormously hungry. She had access to water in her room so at least she was staying hydrated, but what she really wanted right now was some nice, hot foot.

"Everything's been prepared by Chief Marteau himself." came the voice of the siren again.

The hunger pangs came back with full force as she was reminded of the delicious food she had that morning.

Damn that sweet-sounding voice of hers! Telling her all the things she wanted to hear!

"I even brought some Cookberry Pie for dessert."

Ouch, now that was just the low-blows of low-blows. Had she no mercy? At least, Louise reassured herself, she knew that they only made her favorite cookberry pie twice a week. It was most likely only what was left from the last batch.

Trying to tempt her with leftovers. Evil truly knew no bounds! She would never surrender to such dastardly tricks!

"Freshly made, just for you!"

"_A low blow!"_ she thought miserably as she flailed helplessly between the sheets. _"Strikes below the belt is not allowed! I call foul! Foooooooul!"_

"Alright! Alright!" she cried miserably. "I give up, you can come in!"

"_Score!"_ Siesta thought with a grin, quickly pumping her fist once as the handle turned and the door began to open.

However, it was not Louise that opened it.

Siesta was no longer afraid of Louise as a Noble. She wasn't.

If you had asked her a couple days before the duel went down, she would have responded without hesitation that she was scared of Louise de La Vallière. She had a temper matched only in volatility by her magic mishaps, which was a bad combo where a Noble that did something to a commoner could do so unpunished. That sentiment had now changed and Siesta was of the full belief that Louise was a good person who got a lot of flak for some really dumb reasons.

And it was completely true.

But when she looked into the polished, crimson face-plate of the Black Golem that stood before her, her blood ran cold.

This was not a person.

It could not be _tricked_, it could not be _manipulated_, and it could not be _bought_.

The black armor that covered every inch of its body seemed to drink in the light from the torches behind her, making it seem like some kind of demon to her. She could see the beige strip of cloth running diagonally down its chest that secured that deadly, potent weapon which she had seen in use this morning.

This was a killing machine, pure and simple.

It felt no pain. It could not be reasoned with.

She was just seriously contemplating to say _to hell with this_ and take off at a full sprint when Louise's voice successfully derailed her train of thought.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" she asked tiredly.

"N-no! I apologize!" she said quickly as the Black Golem stepped to the side, allowing her to roll the trolley inside.

The inside of the room was dark, and after rolling the trolley inside she went over to Louise's bedside and lit the kerosene lamp there. The poor girl looked like she had been crying and Siesta perfectly understood that sometimes, you just wanted to stay in bed. So she simply offered the Noble a gentle smile and went to pick up the serving tray which every room had one of and set it on the bed in front of her.

As the maid started setting out various dishes, Louise felt an intense burst of gratitude for the commoner. She was used to servants catering to her every need growing up at the Vallière estates, so getting a meal in bed was nothing special.

But she was just so hungry and the maid was so efficient in her work placing out each and every plate and utensil that she just couldn't help it! Half of her (which, also sounded like Éléonore onee-sama for some reason) wanted to berate herself for needing the help of a commoner. She didn't need their help!

...But on the other hand, there was also the half (which sounded just like her beloved Chi-nee-sama) that encouraged this.

_The commoners are the ones that stand knee-deep in the mud so that we, the Nobility, don't have to. _It seemed to tell her. _Even if you will not thank them, there's no need to be cruel to them for theirs is already a hard lot._

Her older sister Cattleya had once told her that when Louise had ranted to her favorite sister about a servant accidentally dropping a tray loaded with tea and pie on the floor. She had been absolutely furious and had yelled at the poor, thoroughly apologetic servant for ten minutes before storming off. For some reason, even though she didn't always treat commoners much better, the words had stayed with her.

"_Chi-see-sama..."_

Siesta was startled when after she had laid everything out for the young lady, tears had started rolling down her cheeks! She had a moment of panic where she thought she'd done something wrong, and made all haste to try and correct it.

"L-lady Vallière!" she stammered, feeling as if the eyes of the Black Golems were on her now. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, no." Louise sniffed as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her sleeve. Siesta noted that it looked quite soiled already. "I-I just got something in my eye, that's all!"

"Ah, I understand." she said kindly and reached into the front pocket of her uniform, producing a cloth napkin she always kept just in case and offered it to her. "Here, this might help."

Louise took the napkin and dabbed her cheeks with it, wincing a little at how sore they felt. Then she unfolded it and loudly blew her nose in it, much to Siesta's chagrin.

"_Oh well."_ she thought as she watched the little Noble clean herself off with it. _"It's what it's for, it can be washed."_

"Thank you, commoner." Louise said with a small sniff as she handed back the soiled napkin to the maid. "I feel a little better now."

"I'm happy to be of service." Siesta said with a smile as she took it back and then covertly dropped it in the dirty clothes hamper. She'd have to clean it properly once she was done here.

"Would you like some wine with your meal?"

Louise had just picked up the silverware and dug into her delicious meal when she was asked, and she nodded with a mouth full of food.

The maid nodded and with the ease borne of long practice she popped the cork of the wine, and noisily poured a long stream of the rich, purple liquid into the lead-crystal wine glass.

For most liquids you ideally wanted to pour it with as little interruption as possible to avoid splashing. Wine on the other hand needed to be oxygenated to bring out its full flavor. Most people would simply open a bottle and then let it sit for a certain amount of time before pouring, but many Nobles would refuse to drink from a bottle they had not seen being unsealed. You never knew when someone would try to poison you for some petty reason, after all.

There was little risk of such a thing happening in the Tristain Academy of Magic, but it had become a custom to always allow the recipient to be present for the opening of a bottle.

To counter the inevitable splashing of wine, not only because it was expensive but also because it was a_ pain_ to wash out, special glasses had been designed for it. All glasses were made by hand, but many specialized in making fine wine glasses for the nobility.

And since glass was fragile and often broke, it was a very profitable industry indeed.

By the time Siesta had finished pouring the wine, Louise had already finished one plate and she hurried to both set the glass and bottle down as well as picking up the empty plate. It wasn't easy, but she took pride in her skills as a maid!

To Louise this was an absolute bliss, a piece of Heaven in every bite. Not only was this her favorite foods but they had also been prepared by an excellent chef. She was practically swimming in endorphins that her brain was releasing in response to her blood sugar, which had been getting very low, was rising once more. To top this off there was also this _amazing_ vintage that she had just been poured a generous helping of.

"By the Founder!" she breathed, feeling a bit light-headed from practically inhaling the food. "I didn't even know the Academy had food this good. And this wine is absolutely perfect!"

Siesta smiled and bowed her head at the praise. "We all wanted to show our gratitude for your actions, Lady Vallière."

Louise had just cut a piece of cookberry pie and was bringing it to her mouth when the maid brought up the reason she was in here. Suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore, she closed her mouth and set the fork back down on the plate.

"Yes... the duel." she said quietly, having actually forgotten about it there for a while.

If the maid noticed her change in mood, she gave no indication as she continued with her head still bowed. "If you had not been there, Lady Vallière, I would surely have lost my job at the Academy."

She straightened back up to look the suddenly morose Noble in the eyes, wishing to show her just how much her actions had meant to her. "I come from a large family of simple farmers, my Lady. I send all the money I earn here at the Academy so that they can afford to feed themselves." she explained with a certain amount of pride.

Louise opened her mouth to say something, but Siesta continued. "Had you not been there last night, my family would have starved!" this made the Noble close her mouth with a click. "If not for you..." she trailed off, pressing her lips together tightly as she fought the urge to cry at the thought of her precious family starving to death.

"I am very grateful!" she said loudly, at the waist as deeply as she could in respect to the surprised girl. "Me and my entire family is indebted to you, Lady Vallière! If there's anything I can do for you, you simply need to ask!"

Louise was both humbled by the sheer amount of gratitude coming from the older woman, and a tiny bit elated knowing that she had in fact not only done harm. She could just imagine Cattleya smiling at her, tilting her head in the way she always did whenever Louise did something good.

"_I did not fail you this time, Chi-nee-sama!"_

Just as she was about to respond, a new voice cut into her thoughts.

"Oh my, I didn't know you were so good at attracting women, Louise."

Siesta froze like a deer in the headlights and Louise snapped her head over where she knew the table and chairs she normally sat in whenever she felt the need to relax with a good book were set. A moment later the kerosene lamp she had put there in order to see the text was lit, revealing Kirche and Tabitha sitting there.

Tabitha had her gnarled staff leaning against the side of her chair and light glinted off her glasses as she read from her ever-present book. Most likely she had been dragged here by Kirche (as usual!) who were sitting across from her, her elbow on her table as she sat with one long leg crossed over the other. Fire was her element and she was known as _Kirche the Ardent_, famous in the school for her fiery passion and drive.

Louise would never admit it, but until she summoned Legion she was probably the closest thing she had to a friend in the Academy. Nor would she admit in _67 trillion years_ that the orange-reddish glow of the lamp nicely complemented her dark skin and bright red hair.

She'd rather punch Princess Henrietta, join a rebellion and get executed for high treason!

"Zerbst!" she shouted. "How long have you been sitting there?!"

The buxom Germanian grinned and held up two fingers in a V-sign. "Three hours!"

"**They snuck into the room while you were eating, Master."** Legion's voice stated helpfully, and she realized she hadn't heard it since this morning.

Time passed quickly even when you weren't having fun, it seemed.

"**Nothing suggested them to be hostile so I did not stop them from entering. Had they tried to assault either you or your servant, I would have acted accordingly and executed them immediately."**

Despite herself, she felt the need to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. She saw in her mind's eye the surprise on the two girls' faces as they were gunned down in the thunderous roar of the repeating muskets that her familiars (maybe familiars' familiars would be more accurate?) used. Guiche's golems stood no chance before them, and she shuddered to imagine what they would do to bodies _not_ made from bronze.

She didn't want to tell them that with the maid in the room, but she'd let them know eventually. Oh yes.

"Liar." Tabitha spoke up in a monotone, only to have Kirche try to hush her.

"Shh! Don't ruin it!" Louise heard her whisper, and she just sighed.

"What do you want, Kirche?" she asked, suddenly feeling very tired. "Don't you know better than to sneak into other people's rooms?"

"Nope!" came the cheerful response. "I do it all the time!"

As Louise face-palmed, Kirche went on to motion to the bluenette sitting next to her. "I regularly visit Tabitha like that, I have to make sure she doesn't bury herself in her books!"

"It is true, no amounts of locks will keep her out." the younger girl confirmed, turning a page.

The Germanian laughed that fake-sounding "Ohohohoho!"-laugh of hers as she leaned back in her seat, thrusting her absurd chest out towards Louise. "I can't help it if the locks in this place can't stand up to my fiery passion!"

"Fire nothing to do with it, adept lock-picker. Could probably make living breaking into people's homes."

"You wound me, Tabitha!"

Louise moaned in exasperation and covered her face with both hands as Siesta, who had since raised herself back up was just looking confused.

"Um... Lady Vallière?"

"Yes, commoner?"

"Would you like me to draw you a bath before bed?" she asked, not wanting to spend any more time in the crossfire than necessary.

"Yes please, that would be lovely." Louise sighed as she dropped her hands back into her lap.

Siesta dutifully placed all the dirty dishes on the trolley, put the serving tray back where it belonged and with quick steps went into the large bathroom each Noble had in connection to where they slept.

As expected of the Academy of Magic, no expense were spared on the students from the often rich Noble families. The bathroom was furnished in tasteful, lacquered wood with carvings laid with gold leaf. All surfaces meant to be exposed to water such as the bathtub, sink and even the toilet were made from polished marble. All taps, knobs, the shower-head and even the towel rack were made from silver (although much of the inside parts were of other, harder metals) and were polished and cleaned daily.

She breathed a small sigh of relief as she closed the bathroom door behind her and walked across the soft bathroom carpet to turn the taps for hot and cold water on to fill the bathtub. Being in the middle of two nobles arguing was stressful in the best of days, and these two were well-known for not getting along.

As she tested the water with her hand and put in the wooden plug in the drain of the tub, her mind wandered to what miss Zerbst had said. She knew it was simply idly talk and she had never found another woman particularly attractive beyond the stage of cute. But at the same time, Lady Vallière _had_ stood up for her, allowed her to keep her job at the Academy and had actually drawn the blood of another Noble for her sake.

She realized now that she had been exaggerating a little when she said her family would have starved without her income. There were always paying jobs to be found, but few of them would have paid as much as the one she had now. It would have been tough and maybe she'd have to go to her cousin Jessica over in the capitol, but she would have preserved.

Still, she thought as the tub started filling up, although the Noble was hardly a knight in shining armor she was thankful to her. Resolving right then and there that although she could not reward her in the same way she would had Lady Vallière been a man, she would support her nonetheless.

Nodding to herself, she set her face in resolution to her silent pledge while curling her hand into a fist. She would not fail!

Ignorant to the thoughts of the maid, Louise and Kirche were still bantering back and forth while Tabitha kept reading. Louise had swung her legs out and were now sitting on the side of the bed while Kirche had remained in her seat.

She had given up on trying to convince the Germanian that _she did not_ do it for the maid's favor, and was now just trying to get them to leave. There was simply now way she was going to change out of her clothes with those two in there!

"Don't be such a prude, Vallière! I bet you don't have anything you haven't seen before." her nemesis said with a smirk. "Unless you're trying to hide the fact that you're actually a boy~"

"I am not getting naked while you're watching and that's final!" she said loudly, folding her arms over her chest.

"So you're not arguing the fact that you're a boy?" Kirche said, smirking as the other girl fell in her word-trap.

"For Brimir's sake, I'm not a boy!" she shouted, slightly red in the face from embarassment.

"So then it should be fine if I check to make sure."

Tabitha looked up from her book as Louise started vibrating from indignation and embarrassment, quickly looking around. She doubted Kirche had noticed it, but all of the four Black golems were in the room with them, and had been all this time. Although she was a mage skilled in both her ice magic and combat, she had seen the ease with which they had taken down Guiche's golems.

_All_ of Guiche's golems, to be precise.

She could have defeated him in a similar manner, but not quite as effectively as they had. Thus she was very wary when she noticed that they now had their compact, rapid-fire muskets in their hands. They were held in a relaxed manner with their fingers flat over the side of the trigger-guard, but she knew they could snap them up to aim at them in a moment's notice.

_These things were extraordinarily dangerous_, her senses told her.

Even had she not watched the duel that morning, the lone fact that they carried firearms was alarming in itself. Golems normally did not need weapons due to their inherent sturdyness compared to humans, and when they did they carried some form of edged or blunt weapons.

These ones had muskets.

Very _effective_ muskets.

All of this went through her mind as she watched Kirche smirk and take another breath for another jab at the younger noble. With that in mind, she went through a dozen different scenarios to defend them and/or incapacitate their foes. However in the end, she went with the easy alternative.

"Ow!" Kirche cried as Tabitha bonked her on the head with her staff, her hands going up to cradle the spot. "What was that for?"

"You were getting too loud."

Before the Germanian had a chance to retort, Tabitha stood up and gave the surprised Louise a short bow. "Aplogize."

"But-"

"Apo-lo-gize." the blank-faced girl spelled out to her.

"Alright, sheesh. Don't get your panties in a bunch." Kirche grumbled before turning back to their host, who was watching this with one eyebrow raised.

"I'm sorry for calling you a boy, Vallière." she said in the most dishonest tone Louise had ever heard.

"I don't believe you." she retorted.

"Well if- _ow!_" Kirche started only to be cut of again as Tabitha grabbed her by the ear and started leading her towards the door.

"Leaving."

"But, hey! _Tabitha!_" she whined as the younger girl led her out of the room.

Louise massaged her brow for a moment in annoyance once they finally left. Stupid Zerbst.

"Is that bath ready yet?" she called.

"Yes Lady Vallière!" came the response a moment later as Siesta opened the bathroom door. Giving a short bow in the doorway she folded her hands in front of her and smiled at her.

"Do you require anything more, my Lady?"

Being undressed and bathed by a maid was similarly nothing special and was often abused by some people. She however didn't really feel like it today and just shook her head no.

"I'll be fine on my own, thank you for bringing me dinner."

Siesta nodded in response to the gratitude and walked over to the trolley, which she then began to wheel out of the room. "As you wish. Have a good night, Lady Vallière."

Once the maid had left and one of her golems, her _Militants_ she corrected herself, closed the door after her she unleashed a long yawn and stretched her arms over her head. A nice hot bath would be just what she needed after today, she reasoned as she stood up and started removing her clothes. Maybe it'd help her get a good night's rest tonight.

* * *

As the humming of the maid echoing down the hallway faded, Montmorency stood motionless behind the pillar where she'd hidden when she heard the maid commoner coming towards her. She hadn't intended to eavesdrop at first, but neither her nor that airhead Kirche had bothered closing the door properly.

She had just been heading to her own room after visiting Guiche in the Infirmary when she came across them, and saw no reason to leave once they'd started talking. The doors weren't marked and she hadn't even known Louise's room were in this corridor, or she might have taken another one.

She had been feeling very conflicted over the whole deal, as on one hand Guiche had been hurt but _on the other_ it had been because he had been two-timing. She didn't really have a grudge against the Vallière girl for beating him, but just like the rest of the school she was _terrified_ of those Black Golems of her.

Most of the staff and students referred to them simply as the Black Golems, but a new name for them were being passed around the school in hushed whispers.

Thunder Warriors.

Named after the sound of their weapons, they were the true reason Montmorency had waited that long, especially once she had confirmation that they were just inside the door. Waiting to drag any unsuspecting student in to be room so that la Vallière could judge them with her own, twisted logic! The very thought sent chills down her spine, and it had to be why Guiche was acting so strangely after the duel.

* * *

_Earlier that day_

* * *

It was noontime, Montmorency had been sitting to the left of the bed Guiche was resting in, carefully peeling an apple with a small knife. The sun had now risen high into the sky and it's life-giving rays were shining through the tall windows of the Infirmary. One of them was slightly ajar, and she could smell the scents of spring fighting against the antiseptic scents so common in places of healing.

Guiche de Gramont was lying in one of the beds, bandages peeking through the plain shirt they'd put on him. It was completely open from the top so that it could be pulled down upon any patient, and then tied together twice on each side.

He had quite a few scars littering the lower right side of his face and neck from where the shrapnel from his golems had hit him. The healer had said they would fade in time on their own, and that if he wanted to have them removed he'd still need to wait a few weeks.

The musket ball that had struck him in his left side had left a nasty wound but had mostly gone all the way through, the doctors said. It too was now healed and just like the other scars were covered in bandages to protect the thin, new skin.

However, it was his mind that Montmorency was worried about, not his body.

Ever since he had awoken after the procedures, he had just been sitting there, staring out of the window with blank eyes. She had been reassured that this was normal for someone who had been seriously hurt for the first time, and too would fade given time.

Thus it was to her surprise that when she was carefully cutting the apple into slices, he spoke to her.

"Where did we go so wrong?" he asked, right out of the blue.

"I'm sorry?" she replied in confusion. "What?"

"Where did we go wrong, Montmorency?" he asked again, adding her name this time.

"About what, Guiche?" It did worry her quite a bit he was using her _complete_ name.

He hadn't done that since they first started dating.

He'd repeated it once and called it beautiful, and then immediately shortened it to Monmon which he'd used ever since. That he was suddenly pronouncing it in its entirety now all of a sudden was... very strange.

"How did we ever come to the conclusion that Louise de La Vallière was a useless mage?"

She was a little taken aback by this question. He had previously been one the most vocal antagonists of the Zero and never missed a chance to belittle her. She knew some people became different after a defeat, but this was just absurd!

"Because" she said slowly. "all her spells to date have failed. You know this Guiche, they explode!"

When he didn't respond, she continued.

"I'll admit that her summoning didn't actually explode, sure. But I would hardly call it a proper one, either."

"But it worked. She summoned something."

Montmorency rolled her eyes as she set the knife down to better focus on him, not wanting to cut herself.

"Yes Guiche, she summoned a bug." she said offhandedly, making him turn his bandaged face to look at her. There was a sort of... mature look in his eyes that wasn't there before. She wasn't sure what she thought of it at that moment.

"That was no bug, Monmon!" despite his tone, she relaxed slightly at the familiar nickname.

"A bug does not grow to that size. A bug does not summon golems." he said, completely serious.

She held his gaze for a moment. "What are you getting at?" she finally asked.

He looked away once more, and they sat quietly for a few minutes before he finally responded.

"She's not a failure." he muttered.

She sighed, starting to see where he was going with this. "Because she beat you?"

"Because she beat me."

"Oh come on, Guiche" she tried to reason with him. "a lot of people far better than her have-"

"And that's exactly it!" he interrupted her, to her annoyance. She was pleased he was starting to show emotion again, but...

"A lot of _better_ people have done that." he stressed. "And she didn't just beat me, she did so without a scratch! Do you know how many people have done that?"

"Yes" she blinked. "if I recall your father did that quite- oh."

His father. _General_ Gramont.

"Exactly." he sighed, slumping where he sat against the headboard. "And when did anyone last compare La Vallière with father?"

They did not.

Guiche put his face in his hands and for a moment she was afraid he'd start sobbing, she honestly couldn't blame him. But no, he just held them there for a few moments before dropping them.

"If we were wrong about her, what else were we wrong about, Monmon?" he asked, sounding almost horrified.

"What else was _I _wrong about?"

* * *

She'd found that she had no good answers to give to him after that, and after sitting in silence for what felt like hours he asked to be allowed to rest. So she left, and didn't come back until after dinner. However he had appeared unresponsive and possibly asleep at that point and she didn't want to disturb him.

So she had wandered around for a while before finally deciding to return to her room for the night, which brought her to the current situation. At this point it had been several minutes since the maid left and the hallway was dark and silent. She drew her wand just in case before sneaking past the door of Louise the Zero Tolerance on her tiptoes.

Better safe than sorry.

The Day of the Void dawned bright and early and to Louise, it felt awfully good. As she laid there between the sheets, warm and comfortable, she tried to figure out why. It took her mind a good couple minutes to wake up enough for her to realize why; she didn't have any weird dreams this time.

Of course she _had_ dreams that she could only vaguely remember, but they had been ordinary dreams. Something about her mother threatening her with a bullwhip unless she cleaned the corner of a round tower.

Odd, but pretty normal compared to the other ones.

Sitting up she stretched and yawned before pointing at one of her black-armored golems that had stood guard over her all night long. Maybe that was why she'd slept so well?

"Lay out my clothes for me while I get ready for the day!" she commanded.

"**Complying."** it responded in the metallic drone she'd come to associate with them, immediately going for her closet.

Humming a tune to herself, she hopped out of bed and almost skipped towards the bathroom while removing her nightgown and panties, dropping them on the floor. After washing herself, she came out feeling a lot fresher and more awake than before.

Her golems were waiting for her as instructed and helped her get dressed without complaint nor comment. In other words, the perfect attendants! They weren't much in ways of conversation sure, and her clothes were still lying on the floor but that was acceptable.

It was only the first day after all, they couldn't be expected to follow orders she hadn't given them. Right?

She beamed when they opened the door for her as she approached it, without even having to ask them! Stepping outside, she waited smugly for the Baneful Redhead to appear from the door opposite of hers. She'd show her this time!

But when it didn't open after waiting on it for a few minutes, she finally got tired of holding her pose and shrugged. The sun would rise tomorrow as well, and today _was_ the Day of Void. Maybe she slept in?

No matter! Turning sideways she started down the hallway to the Alvíss Dining Hall for breakfast to start the day, hearing the steady beats of her golems' booted feet as they followed her. Nothing could ruin this day of days!

But fate had a tendency to punish people who defied it, and today was no exception.

The moment she stepped foot in to the bustling dining hall, all movement _stopped._ Everyone froze at the sight of her and her black golems, no one talked, no one moved. People even stopped chewing and she saw quite a few piece of food falling off of forks and out of people's mouths. She even saw one person who was in the middle of drinking and stopped swallowing, the liquid pouring down his lap in twin streams from the sides of his mouth.

"_THUNDER WARRIORS!"_ someone shouted, and all hell broke loose.

Suddenly there were movement _everywhere_ as everyone scrambled to get out of their seats and out of the large room as quickly as humanly possible. It was the exact situation that the serving staff had feared would happen the night before, although possibly to a lesser degree.

Students screamed as they ran, pushed, crawled and jumped over tables in sprays of food and drink. Lucky the dining hall had plenty of entrances and exists so trampling was not quite as big of a problem as they'd feared, but she still saw some stragglers limping as quickly as possible at the end of the mob.

In less than five minutes, everyone save the bewildered serving staff had left the building, leaving behind a humongous mess.

Louise was completely stunned at this sudden display of terror, what could she possibly have done to deserve such a response? She only defeated some faceless golems for Founder's sake! She never even implied that she'd take on anyone else!

"Wha-what's going on?" she asked the almost empty hall. "Where's everyone going?"

"Away from you, I'd wager." came the gruff response from the door of the kitchens.

"Head Chef!"

Marteau was looking at her with a face she wasn't sure how she should interpret from where he stood in the doorway. He wasn't looking at her the way he had the other morning, like she'd just conquered his lands and was demanding tribute. But he didn't have the look of fear that she'd gotten out of her classmates, either.

"Did... what just happened, exactly?"

He didn't answer for quite a few moments, he just looked at her as if trying to find something without being completely sure what he was looking for. Finally, he did respond.

"There's no reason to sugarcoat it so I'll just tell it to you straight: you scare the crap out of them."

"Huuuh?!" was her unintelligible response.

"Those golems of yours" he motioned to the black-armored men standing behind her. "the things they did in the battle against Lord Gramont's golems has made them all fear for their lives."

"But, but, but..." she stammered. "I didn't hurt anyone!" she cried in dismay. "Their targets was his golems!"

"It wasn't what you did, it was _how_ you did it."

"What... do you mean?"

He worked his jaw a few times as he thought of a good way to put it, in the end he just sighed. "Sit down and I'll get you something to eat, I'll tell you then."

She nodded quietly and as he went back into the kitchen, she looked around for a suitable place to sit. Most of the tables were a mess after the mad scramble earlier and several maids and servants were already working to clear them. She noted with some amount of disgust that some people had even wet themselves in the process of escaping, finding yellow pools of urine here and there.

Eventually she did find a spot and as one of her golems pushed her chair in for her, Marteau reappeared with a plate of pie. To her surprise he also sat down across from her and folded his hands on the table as he looked at her with a serious expression.

"As I was saying, it was how you did it. Tell me, do you know how you normally disable a golem?" he asked her.

She was a little taken aback from the question, as it was not something they normally covered in class.

"Well... they seemed to drop after their helmets were destroyed?"

"Hm. The answer is the same way as you take down a human, only much harder." he explained. "Sometimes they will only go down if you take them apart completely, or kill their summoner."

He paused for a moment as he watched her reaction closely, when she didn't interject with anything, he continued.

"You, miss Vallière, _tore them to shreds._"

She swallowed, nodding as she recalled the way they were turned into glittering flakes that caught the morning light. Now that she thought about it, this probably didn't happen very often.

"I've only ever heard of that happening to earth golems, _never_ to metallic golems." he stressed.

She nodded again, bowing her head to look at the table. She could understand now why everyone ran at the sight of her, they were probably scared she'd do the same thing to them.

Marteau felt a little bad for telling the poor girl this, but he felt she had needed to know why they did what they did. Otherwise she might have spent years pondering it, possibly coming to a bad conclusion and that might have been bad for everyone.

Still, it broke his heart to see her wilting like a flower, and he had to take off his chef's hat and run his hand through his short-cropped hair a few times before he could formulate a response. He really wasn't good at this sort of thing.

"They'll come around, miss Vallière." he tried, a little more gently.

She simply nodded in response, so he tried again.

"Not everyone is afraid of you my Lady." he said, making her slowly look up at him and he gave her a grin in return. "The serving staff hasn't given up on you yet!"

She smiled weakly at this, hesitantly even.

"I'll be honest with you" the large man said. "those Thunder Warriors of yours are pretty scary, I won't deny that." his face softened a little. "But you fought for Siesta's sake, and that's something neither I nor anyone else will forget."

"Thank you. It's just... I'm used to being told I was no good as a mage." she said somberly. "All the spells I'd ever tried until the summoning ritual had just exploded, one way or another."

"And I could handle that, but this..." she trailed off.

"But now everyone is just straight-up frightened of you?" he asked, seeing where she was going with it and earning a nod in return.

Louise set her elbows on the table and slid them forward until her chin was resting on her crossed wrists. "Yes. I think this is even worse than the insults and the teasing!"

Marteau looked on her sympathetically as she buried her face in her arms with a groan. "I never asked for this."

"No one does, miss Vallière."

They sat in silence after that, while the rest of the serving staff bustled around them to clean everything up. By the time Colbert arrived, the place actually looked quite decent and he found Louise sitting alone with the four golems standing at parade rest behind her.

The Head Chef had been forced to excuse himself eventually since plans for lunch needed to be made, and she just hadn't felt like moving since she got there. The cold slice of pie he had brought her in the beginning was still sitting in front of her, untouched.

Colbert wasn't sure if he really wanted to disturb his student at first, but once he saw the dullness in her eyes he knew he had to. He'd noticed it the moment he came in that the dining hall was empty of all people besides the servants and her. It didn't take a genius (or an Academy Professor) to realize that something had happened and that she was feeling bad over it.

"_Poor girl, it's just one thing after another with her."_

Steeling himself, he took one look at the Black Golems standing there in the most nonthreatening way he'd seen thus far before walking over to her. They didn't seem to mind it when he approached, although he felt like they were watching him very closely as he reached out and touched Louise's shoulder.

"Miss Vallière?"

A faint grunt was his first response until she reluctantly pulled herself out of it to look up at the balding Professor. The dull look in her eyes made him wince on the inside, those were the eyes of someone who's hopes had been beaten, flogged, flayed, crushed and then shot.

"Yes, Professor?"

Legion had told her of his approach of course, but she just hadn't felt like doing anything about it. There was nowhere for her to go all day, anyway.

"Would you like to come to the city with me? It's a nice day out and you look like you could use some change of scenery." he asked gently, skipping the part where he had been ordered to do so by the Headmaster.

Louise blinked a few times, out of all the things he could have said this was not one she expected.

"To the capitol, Professor?" Colbert nodded.

"We should be able to make the trip and back before sundown, unless you have anything more pressing to do?"

"I, uh..." she fumbled with her words for a second, trying to think of any excuses. In the end she couldn't think of a single thing she had to do, or even_ could_ do at the moment. "No, I do not." she eventually admitted.

"Alright, then!" he said, sounding pleased with himself. "I have a carriage waiting outside, miss Vallière, let us leave immediately."

She nodded and sat up straighter, one of the golems stepping forward to pull her chair out for her, sliding it back in once she had stood up.

Colbert watched this curiously. What they did was nothing special from a human standpoint, but he'd never seen anyone use summons to do that for them before. The way they moved was so natural, so human, but at the same time he had seen the _Animus Domini_ cast himself. These were definitely bound to Louise by means of magic.

There were other ways of gaining the same kind of magical trace on an item, sure. But he sincerely doubted she'd kept four black, armored gloves close to her person for the four months it took for such a magical residue to appear. Doing that in preparation for a ritual known for its unpredictability seemed awfully far-fetched to him, but was the only other possible alternative.

She was either the greatest tactical genius Halkegenia had ever seen, if she was able to predict events for a full four months in advance. Keeping those gloves near her and casting a massively powerful illusion spell to make it appear that she summoned something, and then equipped them on hired mercenaries.

Nevermind the fact that they'd have to be a perfect set of _quintuple twins_ for them to all be of the same height and body structure.

And that didn't even account for their impossible, repeating muskets!

"_No"_ he thought to himself as his student took a moment to nod her head at a maid they passed on their way to the carriage, earning a smile in return. _"there is no doubt that these were indeed summoned by miss __Vallière__'s own hand. __Where from I cannot say, but I have a nagging suspicion they are not from this world.__"_ he mused to himself as his legs carried him on autopilot.

"_I thought at first they might be from some unexplored land across the ocean to the west, but chances are if they are so advanced then they would have found us first."_ He reasoned, rubbing his chin. And he very nearly walked into one of the Black Golems as he found they had arrived already.

An uneducated person would have referred to the stables, carriage houses and the living quarters for the coachmen and stable personnel as just stables, or perhaps a stable yard or something.

But any noble worth his name and title knew that a range of stables, usually with carriage houses (called remises) and living quarters built around a yard, court or street, was called _Mews_.

The Academy Mews had been constructed not only to accommodate the Noble children that studied there, but also for any friends and relatives to them that might visit. Since it _was_ the only Academy in Tristain they also often got visits from the Royalty, which necessitated the ability to look after animals and carriages of the highest quality.

There was also a smithy ran by a large man named Amadieu who was well-known in the Academy and surrounding area for his skill with hammer and tongs, as well as never being seen without a leather apron on. Together with his two assistants he could fully re-shoe a horse in 20 minutes, which was quite a feat as each shoe had to fit a different hoof! He was also the one that made, repaired and sharpened the tools for the common staff of the Academy, including the various knives and cleavers for the cooking staff.

Besides the Head Chef Marteau himself, he was the most respected commoner in the whole Academy of magic, both for the important work he did and the money he collected. One would think that such a hard-working man would do no more than what was necessary, but the truth was that as all good craftsmen he was passionate about his work. Even on his time off he could be heard hammering away in his forge, trying out new designs and materials.

These tended to be tools or knives, which was then sent to the closest market to be sold or sold directly to people stopping by at the Academy. While not the best smith in Tristain, if he was he'd be working for the Royalty, but he was more than good enough to make a profit, much of it going to the Academy. Some asked him why he didn't just leave and start his own business, but as he would often explain with a certain bit of mirth, it was the Academy that supplied him with the metals he needed.

Why would he leave a place where they _paid_ him not only in Ecu but also raw materials to do what he loved?

"Ah, good!" Colbert said at the sight of the Academy carriage, now where was the coachman? Normally he would be waiting right outside the carriage by the horses but this time he... was not.

Louise had noticed this as well, and looked back at him questioningly. "Professor?"

"One moment, miss Vallière." he said as he walked over to the stables, where he could see a young man shuffling dung into a wheelbarrow.

"Stable boy!" he called out to get his attention, and the young man looked up at him. "Yes, my Lord?" he responded as he set the shovel against a low wall. "Did you need something else?"

"Have you seen the coachman? I was told he'd be waiting when I spoke to André this morning."

The boy winced and drew in a short breath through his teeth with a troubled expression while rubbing his hands together to get some of the dirt off of them. "Were you not told, my Lord? Mister Claude had an accident less than an hour before you came." he explained.

"No I did not." Colbert said, rubbing his chin. "What happened?"

"One of the horses was spooked by something while he was taking it to the carriage, Lord. Kicked him right in the face and we had to carry him to the Infirmary."

Now it was Colbert's turn to wince, horses were unpredictable creatures and such things did sometimes happen without obvious reason. "My sympathies. Will he make a full recover?"

He heard footsteps to his left as Louise, finally tired of standing around, had come up to stand next to him to better hear what was being said. She too was well aware of the dangers surrounding horses, having been told many stories of accidents as a child.

The stable boy inclined his head in greeting to her before answering the Professor's question. "The healers said he'd be alright, he was only hit by one of its front hooves but he got quite the concussion from it."

"Thank Brimir for that." Colbert said. "Is there any other coachmen available?"

"Not at this time, Lord."

Louise rubbed her chin as her teacher muttered an oath and the stable boy went back to shoveling manure. She hadn't been very enthusiastic about it at first, but now she found she was actually disappointed. "Well, I guess it can't be helped unless we can find someone else." she mused to herself.

"**Master, I believe I can offer a solution to this problem."**

She raised an eyebrow at her familiar's words, turning away from the Professor who was looking at the carriage as if he wanted to try driving it himself.

"You can drive a carriage?" she asked him quietly, not sure if she liked that idea.

"**Not directly. However, I possess the total sum of human knowledge from my world which includes all information pertaining horses and their traditional roles in society. I can upload the information required to preform the desired action to the mechanoids in your service."**

She blinked at this sudden bit of information. She felt like she should be more surprised that he had that much knowledge within him, but it didn't surprise her too much. He'd struck her from the start as something along the lines of a sentient library with a somewhat odd focus on fighting, but she didn't know it was literally that way.

"_Professor Colbert would probably have a field day if he knew."_ she thought to herself, and giggled a little as she imagined him frothing at the mouth while trying to write down everything.

Yep, that seemed likely.

"Alright, Legion. Give them the information they need and I'll tell Professor Colbert."

"**Acknowledged. Beginning upload."**

All of her golems bowed their heads for a moment and she raised an eyebrow as she heard a faint, sort of low-pitched chattering noise in her head. Well whatever, it wouldn't be the first time she heard something odd since she summoned him.

"Professor Colbert!" she called out to the man who was now pacing in front of the carriage, watching as his head snapped up at the sound of his name, pausing almost mid-step. "My familiar will drive the carriage."

"Your golems?" he asked, a little worried as he watched them stand with their heads bowed like statues before they suddenly raised them back up. Three stepped forward and with quick, efficient movements climbed the carriage until they were all seated on the two tiers meant for the coachman and his attendants. The fourth walked over to the door of the carriage to hold it open to them and they were both struck by how... familiar it all was.

"Well" Colbert said, pleasantly surprised. "I see you weren't kidding, miss Vallière."

She smiled happily in return, pleased with the way her Familiar was handling himself. "Thank you, Professor!"

He nodded and returned the smile, also happy that her mood had improved. "After you then, miss Vallière." he said, motioning for the carriage.

She gracefully accepted the firm hand of her golem, its black hand warm to the touch from the sun's rays as it helped her up and into the carriage. Colbert followed her a moment later, choosing to climb in on his own and sat on the other seat across from her. Once they were both inside, the golem climbed in as well and closed the door before turning his head towards Louise.

"**Input directive?"**

She blinked, not sure what he was trying to tell her. "Excuse me?"

"I think it wants to know where we are going, miss Vallière." Colbert supplied helpfully, less surprised by the fact that they spoke than he were the day before.

"Ah," she said in understanding. "take us to the city of Tristania."

"**Confirmed."**

A moment later they heard the reins being cracked and a moment later, the carriage started rolling over the cobblestoned yard towards the Academy exit.

* * *

They rode mostly in silence as the carriage rolled down the hard-packed dirt road towards the city. Louise really didn't have much to say as she stared out of the window at the passing countryside with the bored look that anyone who had ever had an extended trip would be familiar with. Colbert spent most of his time scribbling something in the ever-present notebook that he carried everywhere. Actually she was pretty certain she'd never seen him without it in easy reach, always taking notes and observations of everything he saws. Sometimes drawing pictures if he couldn't properly get it into words.

Heck, she thought with some humor, he probably held it in his sleep like a teddy bear!

Ignorant of what his student was thinking about him, Colbert had been studying the golem that rode with them, now that he had the chance. He was noticing a lot of things that he had missed during the time of the duel, and was slowly building up a detailed scetch of what he saw.

As a scholar, Jean Colbert always carried something with him to write with, and had quickly found out what worked and what didn't. Sticks of coal worked well most of the time, but it was often a hassle to bring with you. Even if you protected them from breakage by putting them in a case of some kind, they'd rub together and you'd end up with black coal dust everywhere.

Bringing a bottle of ink and a regular pen was also not an option unless you were on a ship or something similarly stable. Fountain pens with an internal reservoir of ink had started appearing appearing as recently as the last century, but they were still rather expensive.

Of course he owned a small collection of them, but he took great care to never take them anywhere they might be damaged or stolen!

Instead, what he carried with him was a thin rod of lead-based alloy of some kind wrapped in a sleeve of wood. The man who sold it to him spoke very little Tristanian so he wasn't quite sure where it came from or where to get more. It needed sharpening every so often to write cleanly, but he found it was quite sturdy compared to all other writing implements making it well-suited for travel.

There trip to capitol of Tristain would take three hours so he took his time getting it as precise as possible, even with the inherently bumpiness of the ride. He tried to get every line of its black, carapace-like armor right, marveling at how well each piece fit together.

He knew no smith that could make such fine work as the one he saw sitting perfectly still before him right now. Both sides of the body was completely symmetrical down to every curve, straight line and shape. In its lap lay the terrifying repeating musket for which he had no real name for yet, held securely in both hands as to not lose it and be ready to use it if needed.

It was almost completely matte black in color, made from some kind of material that he simply could not place, and considerably shorter than any musket he'd seen. The top part had what looked like some kind of carrying handle, and instead of gripping it by the stock the weapon had a sloped handle behind the trigger.

In front of the trigger was some kind of black box that looked like it might slide out, although he couldn't tell what its exact purpose was.

Maybe, he rationalized as he sketched a rough outline of the weapon, since it had neither breech nor lock it might be how it was reloaded. His first thought was that it had contained the powder and ball for reloading, but then he had yet to see them actually reload them.

He supposed it was possible that the weapon was magically fueled somehow, which alone would be a fantastic thing for a musketeer to have. As he pondered this thought, he found that he had finished drawing the weapon as well as he could, and had arrived to the hands that held it.

This made him pause as he remembered something, _the familiar runes!_

He tried leaning forward, squinting to see then in the light shining in through the carriage windows, but it was hard to tell anything since it was black-on-black.

Louise had defaulted to the usual game she once came up with to amuse herself on trips like these. She'd imagine a knight running alongside the carriage, jumping over the scenery like obstacles. She was jolted out of this as she heard her name being called.

"Miss Vallière?"

"Yes, Mr. Colbert?"

He motioned with his pen to the golem sitting next to her. "Would you allow me to write down the runes on your golem's hand?" he asked politely.

"I never got the chance to do so before, and I'd like to see if they're the same as what was scribed into the armored carapace of your familiar."

"Oh" she blinked at the request, but saw nothing odd with it. "well okay."

Turning to the golem she made her wishes known. "Present him your hand."

"**Specify."**

"Your left." Colbert said, once more acting as the interpreter.

"What he said."

"**Acknowledged."** it said, raising its left hand from the weapon and holding it out to the professor.

Now that he had it right in front of his eyes, he could very see the indentations of the runes, but they were still hard to make out. A thought struck him, and he fumbled with his pocket for a moment before producing half a piece of chalk from his last lecture.

Supporting the golem's hand with his own left (although it was probably not needed, he did it anyway) he rubbed the chalk over the runes until it was almost completely ground down against them. Carefully wiping away the excess with the side of his palm, the runes were now filled in with white chalk and could be seen clearly.

Louise too leaned over to watch this and examine the runes herself, having never even thought of checking them herself. "So that's what they look like."

"Indeed!" the balding professor said exitedly as he quickly and accurately wrote them down in his notebook next to the sketch of the golem itself. "Hmm, these runes are very unusual."

"How so?" she asked as the golem accurately assumed they were done and let its hand rest on the musket once again. "They look like ordinary Brimiric runes to me."

"Yes, but look at how long the string is, and how they're arranged!" he said as he showed her his notebook.

"The Kra and Hem runes here refers to a limb, and the Tef specifies it into a hand." he explained, pointing out each one to her. "Tir and Lum refers to color, Alg is belonging, aaand..."

Ignoring the bewildered expression of someone who had never studied runes before, he paused at the end which had four runes separated from the others in a sort of rounded rectangle shape.

"This is a name... I think."

"You think?" she asked dubiously.

He leaned back in his seat to look in his book right-side up, frowning as he didn't think about it until he started explaining them. "I've never actually seen them written like this before, and I don't have the proper references to decode them with me."

She rubbed her forehead at the antics of the professor she was sharing a carriage with. "So what does it say before that part, then?"

Colbert rubbed his chin thoughtfully as his mind connected the dots and rearranged the grammar into that of regular Tristanian. "Well, it could be translated as 'The Purple Backhand' or 'Colorful Grasping'" he said slowly.

"...or?" she prompted him, refusing to believe that was everything.

"Miss Vallière'" he said with a sigh "the runes neither specify what color it's referring to, which part of the hand or what position it's in. They're very vague on this."

"Well just give me whatever sounds the best!"

He slowly chewed on his tongue as he tilted the book this way and his head that way, hmm-ing all the while. She almost gave up when he turned the book sideways, but not long after he told her the meaning he'd arrived on.

"The Black Hand of (someone)."

Hmm. "That sounds pretty good." She had to admit. "It couldn't say Nod or Legion at the end?"

She saw him check the line again, his eyes moving as he read it multiple times before shaking his head. "No, the phonetics aren't even close to spell out either of those."

"What about... my name?" she suggested hopefully.

He paused, and she saw his eyebrows rise and fall like waves on the ocean. "...maybe. I can't deny that it does sound closer than the others, but I'd have to check with the books when we get back to make sure."

"Well, I'll stick with that for now then." she decided, her mood a little brighter.

Black, grey and red seemed to be the common colors of Nod, and that infantry building _was_ called the Hand of Nod. It all fit!

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

The more it made sense, the better it sounded to her.

_The Black Hand of Louise._

* * *

Wow, I had to invent and supplement quite a bit of stuff in this chapter, hopefully none of you will mind. Just in case you were wondering, only Louise can hear Legion's voice at the moment, but anyone can hear the voices of her troops. Why aren't he speaking through them, you ask? That'll be explained eventually!

I was going to have the part with Siesta and Count Mott in this chapter, but I quickly found it simply got _too long_ for that. Speaking of lengths, I don't know if anyone noticed but the chapters have gotten progressively longer each time. When I first started writing TFMT, I thought to myself that 8 pages was a pretty decent length, and the first chapter is about 7 and a half.

The second chapter ran away on me and before I could blink, it was 19 and a half.

Now I thought to myself that 20 pages should be more than enough, and set myself to that standard instead.

Chapter three was 24 and about one fourth pages long.

And now this one is 27 pages, going into 28 with this note at the end.

I really don't know how long I'll be able to keep scaling it like this or update it as often as I have, but I guess only time will tell. As long as no one minds the lengths of the chapters, nor will I mind writing them! ^_^

As always, please leave a review if you enjoyed it.


	5. Worry not, my fair Maid!

I'm gonna say this from the very start so that you all know: I had to invent a _lot_ of Halkeginian geography for this chapter. Since any story is set in a certain location, it becomes very important to be able to have a sense of what the area you're in and the surroundings look like. This provides a foundation for everything else in a story, and we all know how important the foundation is.

Any maps or descriptions I could find were _incredibly_ vague! Most of the maps I looked at had only the five countries marked out and a handful of locations, including many important to the main storyline. Now, I'm fully certain that I don't know everything there is to know about ZnT so if anyone detects any glaring faults, just tell me and I'll fix it.

I also had to make up all kinds of stuff for this chapter yet again, I think I'm just going to stop mentioning it and simply keep going. Nobody seems to mind me doing it anyway, so yay for artistic license? I'll still be doing as much research as possible (of course) so hopefully it'll turn out well in the end.

I got quite the amount of varying responses from the last chapter, many of which had valid points. I won't go into detail too much because this AN is already too long, but please be reassured that I'm not just throwing things together because I thought they sound good. There is in fact a method to my madness, and things that make no sense at the time will be explained later.

Also, I've dropped the use of Japanese. I thought it was a good idea after poking around the ZnT wikis a bit too long, but I was wrong. I hope you can forgive me for this brief stint of madness!

This turned out into a really long one, I hope you will all enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5

Worry not, my fair Maid!

* * *

Old Osmond signed the document handed to him by the Palace Messenger with the ease of long practice. Putting the feathered pen back into the ink bottle, he took a look at the man sitting across from him as he waited for the ink to dry.

It wasn't the first time that Count Mott had visited the Academy and it most likely would not be the last. He was a man in his early thirties with nearly combed back, oiled hair wearing a white, pleated high-collar and a wine-red high-society outfit.

As slimy as they came, he was a known womanizer and shameless pervert. Most likely corrupt as well, but no charges ever levied against him ever found any evidence to support it. Not because there _were_ no evidence, but because his status as Palace Messenger and friends in high placed made it possible for him to avoid the law.

The Headmaster had disliked the man since the first time he saw him, even their shared love for the female body was not enough to overcome that. The man had even taken several maids from the Academy during previous visits, citing Royal Decree as an excuse any time he was questioned.

He had never heard anything from any of those women since, and he often mentioned them in his nightly prayers to the Founder. Hoping that they were doing alright.

After the fifth maid had been "reassigned" to Count Mott's household, Osmond had put several measures in place that seemed to have worked thus far. It had been very simple to convince the staff to only send male servants to do any form of work during the times of Mott's visits. They actually thanked him profusely for doing this, revealing that they had also been very worried about the young women that had vanished.

But this time had him a little worried.

Normally they were told weeks in advance of the Count's visit, but this time he had simply shown up in his gilded carriage.

"Could you please tell me a bit more about this thief, sir Mott?" Old Osmond asked the man sitting on the other side of his desk, slowly sipping a cup of tea.

"Of course." he said, setting the cup down. "He calls himself _Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt_ and has been plaguing the nobility for quite some time."

The Headmaster hummed thoughtfully. He had indeed heard of Fouquet, but preferred to give the pretense of not keeping track of the world outside the Academy. He also knew that most of the reports stated that Fouquet tended to go after greedy nobles, which made him wonder why he was after the academy.

Admittedly, the Academy Vault was one of the most secure in all of Tristain, but there was something not quite right about it.

"I see" he said at length. "does anyone know what he looks like?"

Count Mott shook his head. "He always wears a billowing robe that conceals all his features. He does follow a certain modus operandi however, which is how we've been tracking him."

"Oh?"

"He is an earth mage, and likes to turn walls and doors into dirt before smashing through them with his earth golems."

"Ho? That's pretty advanced earth magic right there." Osmond admitted, being a square-class earth mage himself.

"Indeed, which is why the Nobility is up in arms about him." Mott said with a disdainful little sniff.

"I can see why. However" the Headmaster said, making Count Mott refocus on him. "the Academy Vault is quite safe. It was specially enchanted to prevent any intrusion by several square-class mages working in tandem to weave the finest of all possible wards."

"Why I should know, I was one of them!" he proclaimed with no small amount of pride.

For a few moments, only the tick-tock of the grandfather clock was heard throughout the room.

"You are saying they are impenetrable, then?" The Count asked, holding his hands up under his nose with the palms pressed against each other in a gesture of contemplation.

"Absolutely." Osmond confirmed. "There is no way that Fouquet could break into it on his own."

Count Mott did not look convinced. "Completely certain, Headmaster?"

"Absolutely certain." he said once more.

There was a silence once more before the Count nodded, seemingly satisfied with this. "I will not take up any more of your time, then."

"Excellent. I am sure you must be a busy man, sir Mott." the Headmaster said as he slid the long-since dried document over hi desk to the other man.

The document had been a simple reassurance that every possible measure had been taken to ensure the safety of the Vault. He had to sign one every year or so as per the agreement the Crown had with the Academy to store many of their precious relics there.

This was the first time he'd had to sign a second one within less than six months of the first one, though.

"_They must really be worried about Fouquet."_ he thought as Mott picked up the document and neatly rolled it up into a tube before putting it into a special, cylindrical container made for just that kind of thing.

As he stood up to leave, the Count paused as if just remembering something. "Oh, one last thing Headmaster."

"Yes?"

"Whenever Fouquet has completed a heist, he always leaves a message saying 'Thank you for the delivery'."

Old Osmond raised an eyebrow, he hadn't heard of that before. Satisfied that the full extent of his message had been received, Count Mott opened the door to find miss Longueville standing outside.

"Well hello there, beautiful!" he greeted her in his most suave tone.

Her right eyebrow twitched ever-so slightly, but she managed to keep a pleasant mask. "Good afternoon, Count Mott." she replied with a light bow of her head.

The Count smirked as he looked her up and down. "How about we go out on a date together, you and me?" he said, desire clear in his voice.

"I would love to!" she lied easily. "But I have duties to preform, so it will have to be some other time."

He smirked before walking past her and continuing down the corridor, suddenly anxious to get back to his mansion. He suddenly had an idea for what to do for tonight's entertainment!

Almost salivating at the thought of putting glasses on one of his green-haired beauties and then _ruining_ them, he almost didn't notice the maid coming down the corridor towards him.

Poor Siesta couldn't believe her misfortune as she looked into the lustful eyes of Count Mott, suddenly and acutely aware of her own curves, she swallowed hard.

"_I'm sorry, Lady Vallière."_ she thought miserably as he advanced on her. _"It looks like I won't be able to fulfill my promise after all."_

* * *

Once the Count had left, miss Longueville let the mask of pleasantry drop to show how extraordinarily unimpressed she was by his offer.

"What a waste of air." she huffed quietly to herself.

"I agree, miss Longueville."

She turned to look at the Headmaster, not really caring that he'd heard her. This wasn't the first time this particular thing had happened. "So what did the Palace want this time?" she asked.

"They wanted to warn me that a thief might be trying to steal something from the Academy Vault." he explained, slowly slipping his pipe out of his pocket.

"A thief?" she asked him.

"Yes, Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt."

She tapped the side of her chin with her index finger as he quietly began to stuff his pipe with herbs.

"I've never heard of him." she said evenly before shooting him a glare, causing him to put down the pipe in defeat. "Why would anyone even try to steal from the Academy?"

"Well," he sighed. "I can only assume they're after the Staff of Destruction."

With a wave of her wand, miss Longueville started putting some books up on a tall shelf. Doing her best to act disinterested about the whole thing. "The Staff of Destruction?"

Old Osmond leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over his stomach. "Thirty years ago, I was returning from a mission when I was attacked by a Great Dragon." he recalled.

Miss Longueville's head snapped over to look at him, genuine surprise on her face. "You fought a Great Dragon on your own!?"

"Indeed I did!" he exclaimed, sounding quite pleased by the fact.

"Most people don't survive such an encounter." she said, her eyes narrowing a little at him. "Are you really telling the truth?"

"Well, I did almost die." he said a little sheepishly, causing her to roll her eyes at him.

"But just as I was just saying my prayers to the Founder, a soldier appeared out of a green portal."

"Are you making this up?" she demanded, causing him to shake his head vigorously.

"I'm telling the truth! It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life!"

"Hm. And he defeated the Dragon?"

The Headmaster nodded.

"He was wearing clothes that I had never seen before in my life, and he must have come from a great battle as they were stained deep red." he said, recalling the event of so long ago.

"In his hands were a short staff made from metal of some kind, a strip of bright green light along its length. Although I could hear his labored breathing even from where I was laying, he pointed it at the dragon and unleashed the greatest blast of power I have ever seen."

"Like a fireball?" she asked curiously, slowly starting to believe him as his story gained detail.

To her surprise, Old Osmond shook his head.

"It was like if you imagine the loudest crack of thunder you have ever heard, but instead of lightning it fired a streak of purest light! I could see how it formed this trail in the air, like a spiral of blue smoke." he said as he drew circles in the air with his finger, feeling the excitement of the moment even three decades later.

"And the Dragon?"

The elderly mage sobered up in but a moment, and he looked at her with steady eyes. "Tell me, miss Longueville. Have you ever seen the damage caused by a black powder cannon against an ordinary person?" he asked her seriously.

For a moment she was taken aback before she shook her head. The mental image was... terrifying.

"Well... no, Headmaster. I can't say that I have."

"The Dragon looked like that, miss Longueville." she blinked at him, not wanting to believe it.

"But... a Great Dragon is one of the hardest creatures to kill, Headmaster! I've heard of them slaughter entire armies!" she exclaimed.

"And yet it happened." she grew quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"Although I have met a few dragons since that time, none of them were as large and old as that one. Nor have I ever seen anything struck down so cleanly as that day." he said quietly, his earlier enthusiasm gone. "It was gutted _completely_ from front to stern with a hole so big, I could see light shining through it!"

She looked at him for a moment, chewing on her lip as she considered the implications of this.

"And the soldier? What happened to him?"

The Headmaster shook his head. "He collapsed before I could even get to my feet, and by the time I got to him he was already lying in a pool of his own blood. I could do nothing but grip his hand in my own as he died, never as much as a single word spoken between us." he said, still lamenting the loss of such a man.

Miss Longueville was quiet as she watched him reach into some hidden compartment in his desk.

"The only thing he did before he died was that he tried to give me this necklace he had."

Putting his hand on his desk, he spread out what was unmistakably a necklace just as he said, but it was the strangest one she'd ever seen. It was a chain of sorts, although she hesitated to call it that, which appeared to be made by tiny metal spheres linked together by even tinier metal bars. Attached to it was two rectangular pieces of metal lined by some kind of black material, and the whole thing was smeared with what she instantly recognized as old, dried blood.

"By the Founder." she muttered as she lifted the necklace to get a better look at it. "I thought you were just trying to fool me at first" she admitted, to caught up in the moment to notice him pouting. "but this is..." she fumbled for a good way to put it.

"Out of this world?" he supplied, having had similar thoughts for years.

"Yes! And what are these runes?" she asked, noticing the lines of perfectly straight rows of runes she didn't recognize running along the pieces of metal..

"I do not know." He admitted. "I've been trying for over 20 years to translate it, but no book I have read nor expert I have met have been able to make anything out of it."

She put the necklace down again and looked at him. "Then what happened?"

"I buried him right there." Old Osmond said simply. "I was too hurt to carry him, and I did not want wild animals to tear at the corpse of someone who had saved my life in such a fashion. So I used my magic to dig a grave for him and the Dragon and sealed them both together."

"You entombed him _in_ the Dragon?" she gaped at him. Every single part of a Great Dragon's body was practically priceless and could be used for just about anything, including as magical catalysts and ingredients for the strongest potions.

It was the equivalent of finding an untouched, priceless treasure or relic only to crush it to a powder and use it to mark the path you took to the privy!

"About half was still sticking up above ground." he admitted. "I was too weak to completely cover it, but I thought it fitting he have its bones as a headstone."

"A grand headstone, indeed." she muttered. Unbelievable.

She doubted the Royal Catacomb where all the Kings and Queens of Tristain were put to rest were as valuable as that which he'd made for an unknown soldier!

As she was lamenting this, she was interrupted as she felt a most unwelcome hand touching her butt.

"Headmaster." she hissed, balling her hands into fists.

"Yeees?" he asked innocently as he shamelessly groped her hindquarters.

"Why is your hand touching my bottom!?"

"Why, miss Longueville! I see you've lost some weight! Have you been eating properly?"

She felt a vein pulse on her forehead as she reached over to a large, silver ashtray that was sitting on the Headmaster's desk as a paperweight. Hefting it in her hand she brought it down on his head.

Even from the outside, you could clearly hear his scream of pain which caused frightened birds to take off in droves from the rooftops.

* * *

When Louise and Professor Colbert finally arrived in Tristania, it was already high noon and the streets were quite busy.

Originally named _Dieppe_ for reasons long since lost to the long centuries, it had been fishing village along the north-western tip of what was now Tristain. Thanks to the abundant supply of food from the ocean, it quickly grew and attracted more people with the promise of unclaimed, fertile lands. These in turn attracted the various craftsmen who produced the tools and building materials and the merchants who sold them.

Back then, there were numerous unnamed barbarian tribes in the area between modern-day Germania, which was the turf of a particularly _large_ tribe, and modern-day Gallia, which was infested by dragons. These tribes liked to constantly fight one-another over the slightest thing, and had a tendency to eat anything they could get their hands on that didn't run too fast while doing so.

At one point, a strapping young lad living in a nameless, dirty farming community woke up one morning to see his favorite goat get her head smashed in and dragged off by a big man in a fur loincloth.

Her name was Claudia Milksworth Groin-Kick the Second, and he had raised her from a kid after her mother got eaten by a wolf. To see her done in so easily broke something in him, and started him on a path of vengeance that lasted for months. Absolutely livid, he ran around kicking in each and every door of the 16 houses of the community, yelling at their inhabitants until they joined him in his march against oppression.

In the history books, they wrote that it had been through the blessings of the Founder Brimir that he had gained the strength, wisdom, courage and leadership to do what he did. That his magnificent speech had roused the hearts and minds of his fellow men, and that together they smote the barbarian hordes with Holy Fury never since seen.

In truth, what he had repeated through the day and sometimes mumbled during his months-long campaign, was something more along the lines of "I am _sick_ and _tired_ of these damn barbarians stealing my _goddamn goats!_".

His name was Albertus William Tristean junior, son of Albertus Tristean senior, and he was 17 years old.

After stabbing the man who had stolen his precious goat to death with a pitchfork, he also went on to kill roughly half of the members of that particular tribe. The leader was killed by his best friend Charles – later known as _Charles le Magne_ or Charles the Great – pegged him with a felling axe in the back of the head while he was trying to run away.

Emboldened by his victory, and mortified after finding that his goat had been chopped up and made into a stew with turnips of all things (he hated turnips!) he decided that this was not yet enough. Going from village to village, his forces grew and by the time he finally got to the coast he'd killed or driven away almost 30 tribes.

By then, Dieppe had grown into a powerful trading hub as they'd started trading their excess food with other nearby communities and regularly sent ships along the coast to the other coastal settlements. A wooden palisade supported by a low wall of flat rocks stacked on top of each other protected them from barbarians, and they had grown rather lazy.

Which was why the guard on duty ended up squirting wine out of his nose when he saw an army of people _not_ covered in furs coming towards the city. He immediately ran inside and shouted for his fellow guards to close the gate while he ran towards the house belonging to the Mayor.

The Mayor of Dieppe was not very enthusiastic about the army on his doorstep and had immediately gone out to tell them to go get stuffed. Albertus had patiently tried to reason with him, saying that they were in fact not here for their livestock or their women. Or, well, actually they _were_ but he did his best to reassure the loud, slightly overweight man that they'd pay for themselves.

Seeing an opportunity to get even more money, the Mayor demanded extortionist prices for all goods and services and when Albertus told him off for being greedy, he pulled a wand on him. He had of course heard of magic and sometimes a dot or line mage had stopped by in their village either for food and lodging or to offer their services. The Mayor as it turned out was indeed a dot mage as well, and had gotten where he was partially due to this.

That may very well had been the end of him as even the lowest of mages could easily defeat someone without magic, but once again the day was saved by Charles and his Axe. In an event that would centuries later be popularized as a story for children, called _Charles and the Tyrant_, he'd managed to hit him in the shoulder with a small hand axe. This had caused the surprised Mayor to drop his wand, which was then quickly scooped up by Albertus.

Irritated by this man and his holier-than-thou attitude, he hadn't really given it much thought as he pointed the wand at him and told him to _disappear_. He had no way of knowing that his mother who died giving birth to him had been a bit of a dabbler in the arts, and had passed it on to him. Not only that, but she had also been one of the descendants of Brimir himself, but that did not become known until many decades later.

When the town guards saw their mayor explode like an overripe tomato struck by a sledgehammer from a single word from the irritated youth, they immediately put their weapons down and surrendered.

Rather confused but pleasantly surprised, he was carried into Dieppe on the shoulders of his men and elected as the next Mayor on the spot. To his credit it didn't take him very long to get used to the sudden influx of influence he had, and within one year had the support of many other villages as well. Turns out that people were quite grateful to him for helping get rid of those pesky barbarians, and people started talking about crowning him.

While that was going around, he had also been asking around for someone to teach him how to use his new-found magic potency, and was quickly told of the ritual for summoning a familiar. No one was more surprised than him when what he got looked like a giant wooden doll wearing a backpack covered in additional, smaller dolls.

Seeing the opportunity to create a much better country than where he'd grown up, he then set out to properly unify the country. It took him eight years of running around the lands before he finally managed to put down all remaining tribes, and was tired but pleased with himself when he returned. He was well-known by this point as Tristean the Lawgiver and was met by cheering crowds who didn't even let him get cleaned off as they carried him to the largest church they had.

There he was finally crowned King Albertus William de la Tristain the First by the elderly head priest, and went on to rule successfully for 52 years, fathering no less than six sons and four daughters.

After his death, Dieppe was renamed Tristania in his honor and a lot of work was put into restructuring the port trading town into the capital of Tristain. It was not until the time of Albert Clément VIII de la Tristain, over two centuries later, that Tristania was finally completed.

It had taken so long because many had decided to pick up and emigrate to the prosperous capital, forcing them to redefine the city limits again and again. What had long, long ago been a dirt road to the Mayor's office was now a wide boulevard, one of three that each began at one of the city gates. They all joined together in the middle and ran through several gated checkpoints until finally reaching the Royal Palace.

The palace itself had started construction already during Albertus' second decade and had evolved greatly from the original design only meant to protect the new King. With its back to the port, it had a fantastic view of the ocean and the many gardens that had been planted around it. Although Tristain wasn't quite as prosperous as it had once been, it was still considered the jewel of the city and no visit to the capital was complete without catching a glimpse of it.

It was thanks to this that the horse-drawn carriage, guided by an Artificial Intelligence from another world, had no trouble plotting a course to their destination. Even at this time of day when tens of thousands of people crowded around thousands of stalls, and equally many crossed it to get to their destination, it was still quite roomy.

Although she had been to the capital many times in her life, mostly with her family, it still filled her with a sense of pride every time she saw it. The architecture of the buildings she passed were all in the typical Tristanian style with straight lines and sharp corners, occasionally interspersed with more daring, curved roofs. Building materials ranged from the dusty orange-red sandstone to various shades of granite, a great deal of them having facades of fine, carved marble.

Many buildings further into the city were made out of cheaper materials such as brick and wood, but great care and effort had been taken to make the main boulevards as beautiful as possible.

Professor Colbert smiled as he saw her spirits lifted by the sights of glorious Tristania, as it would appear the Headmaster had been completely right. A change of scenery was just what the young Vallière had needed.

"Do you enjoy coming to the capital, miss Vallière?" he asked her lightly, more to engage in small talk than any actual curiosity.

"Yes!" she said, leaning her elbow on the armrest as she rested her chin on her palm. "Very much so, I have many good memories of this city. What about you, Professor?"

"I've been here enough that it's lost some of its charm to me, but I still enjoy coming here from time to time." he admitted as he, too, looked out through the window. "Mostly to browse the stores and catch up with old friends at the Palace."

"Oh?" she said, her curiosity piqued. "You spent a lot of time there?"

"Oh yes." he said a little wistfully, recalling times gone by. "I was once in the employ of the Princess' father, King Henry IV of Tristain." he said, making her finally tear her eyes away from the window and look at him.

"Princess Henrietta's father?" she repeated unnecessarily, having never met the former King before he died when she was a child. "Were you a guard or something?"

"The same." he nodded before continuing to respond to her second question. "I was part of the Royal Mage Corps, actually. My job was to help protect important Nobles and root out corruption in the country." he revealed.

"Wow." she blinked, rather surprised by this revelation and it showed in her voice. "I always thought you were just one of those people who did nothing but sit behind a desk!"

"H-hey!" he protested. "Just because I prefer to engage in the peaceful applications of magic doesn't make me a wimp!" a little offended by the implication.

It was normal for fire-elemental mages to have very intense emotions and although Colbert normally kept his in check with a combination of dicipline and force of will, it did sometimes flare.

"I never said you were a wimp, Professor." Louise said succinctly, raising an eyebrow at his outburst. He however continued unabated.

"Why, I even trained under the Heavy Wind herself!"

"You trained under mother?" she blurted out without thinking, making him pause and realizing what he'd just said, finally put a hold on his emotions.

"Yes." he admitted after a silence that lasted several seconds. "For a little while, even though I was never part of any of the knightly orders." he blew out a sigh, cursing his own tongue.

"I shouldn't say any more, she made me swear at sword-point I wouldn't." he said weakly.

"Oh come on, Professor!" she pleaded with him, doing her best puppy impression. "It's not like I'm any random plebeian!"

He visibly fought with himself for a few moments until he finally relented. "You _are_ her daughter." he finally admitted.

"Yay!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air before leaning forward with her face in her hands. "Tell me, tell me, Professor!"

"Settle down, miss Valliére." he said, back into Professor mode. "This happened after me and my squad had come back one night after a hard mission, and after having a few drinks I decided to call it a night." he said, the event clear in his memory despite both time and alcohol consumption.

"I did not even know that the Heavy Wind had been present in the area at the time, and by pure chance and accident I mistook her room for my own and just walked right in."

Louise _stared_ at him as she tried to imagine such an event happening. "You walked in on her, while she was changing?" she asked slowly, accenuating each word. _"How are you still alive?"_

"No! Well, yes." he tried to explain. "You see, back then she preferred to conceal the fact that she was a woman. Not only with the full set of armor she wore but also through a steel mask that covered the entire lower part of her face." he said, holding his hand up over his mouth and nose to mimic a mask.

"Hmm." Louise had folded her arms and leaned back as she listened to his story. "You saw only her face, then?"

Colbert nodded. "There were many rumors that she was in fact a very beautiful woman, and I was quite surprised to find they were true."

"And then?"

He cringed a little as he remembered that night. "I had never seen a person in armor move so fast. Before I could blink much less apologize, she marched right over to me, kicked the door closed and held her sword to my neck." he said, rubbing his throat as if he could still feel the cold steel.

"_You will swear on everything you hold dear to never speak to another living soul what you have seen, or I will take your head from where you stand and mount it on my wall!"_

He swallowed reflexively at the memory. "She made me swear in one sentence to not tell anyone, and then she forced me to train with the rest of her knights to keep an eye on me. It took a week before she was satisfied that I was telling the truth."

Now it was her turn to wince. She was well-acquainted with her mother's methods for getting just about anything done, and she could only have imagined how much worse it would have been back before she had a chance to mellow out.

"My condolences." she said "That couldn't have been easy."

"I often thought it would be the end of me." he admitted "But it forced me to sharpen my skills to a very fine point, which I have since used to instruct yourself and your classmates."

"Ah, that explains why some call you a slave-driver, then."

He blinked. "What?"

"Er..." she quickly changed gears, instead asking another question on her mind to distract him. "Was that the reason you left the Royal Mage Corps?"

"Ah, um, yes." he replied. "I-it just got to me, I guess?" he stammered out quickly.

He really did want to tell her the actual reason, and if he had any choice in the matter he'd take it with him to the grave.

"Ah, I see." she mused, although he could tell she didn't seem to really believe him.

"You remind me a bit of her, you know." he said, unknowingly doing the exact same thing as she had moments before.

"My mother?" she gave a rather unladylike snort at that. "She's the greatest Wind Mage that's Tristain has ever seen, already a knight by the time she was my age." her eyes sank until she was looking at her feet.

"I'm just a failure." she muttered. How could she possibly compare?

This might have been the wrong thing to say, Colbert realized.

"Don't... sell yourself short, miss Vallière." he said gently. "While it's certainly true that you've had some, _problems_, with your magic..."

She just grunted in response, that was the understatement of the century.

"...do not forget that I am your teacher. I have seen how hard you've been working since you came to the Academy." she looked up at him, hearing the honesty in his words. "And although I have sometimes been forced to fail you due to rules and protocol, I do not believe that _you_ are a failure, miss Vallière."

"That's kind of you, Professor." she said, a small smile returning to her lips.

Nodding a little at the positive effects of his words, he continued. "In fact, I'd say your magic has already begun to mature." he said, motioning at the golem at her side. "You managed to successfully summon an amazing familiar on your first try. Which is remarkable in itself without even counting in the fact that it's something previously unheard of!"

This was true! Her spirits successfully lifted, she was just about to ask him more about familiars when Legion's voice cut into her thoughts.

"**Master, we have arrived at our destination."**

Sure enough, when she looked out of window she saw that they had come to a stop at the Mews attached to the second wall of the city.

It was not uncommon for larger cities, especially the capitols, to have several layers of walls protecting the Palace in case of a siege. Often they were added over the centuries as the city grew beyond its own boundaries, forcing people to construct their homes on the outside of the walls. To protect these people another wall had to be constructed, eventually starting the cycle over again.

The most famous of these cities were the holy city of _Roma_ in Romalia, which had been constructed as five layers of pentagons, built so each wall was at an angle with the last. This created a sort of flower-shape when viewed from above, with the most sacred of all Cathedrals in the exact middle.

_Cathedral de Romalia_ was the centerpiece not only of the entire city but also the Brimiric faith, as well. It was where the first Pope, diciple of Brimir himself, was buried and it was said that the city sprung up around it.

Tristania had three walls of which the first one ran along the coast, wharves built out on the water beyond it. It circled around the Palace and the many grand, pompous neighborhoods and mansions where the high-ranking nobles and aristocrats lived. It was also home to the headquarters of the various military branches of Tristain, including the knight's orders and everything related to them.

The second wall was in the shape of a wide U-shape where each ended at the coast, and held a mix of lower-ranked nobles and well-off commoners. They were usually the ones that catered to the needs of the nobles, fine craftsmen, merchants, shop owners and so forth. It was also where the city market was located, untold amounts of wares and Ecu switching hands each day.

The third and final wall followed the same shape as the second, most of it was composed of farmland and pastures and produced most of the city's raw goods. The lower class lived and worked here in the labyrinth of narrow side-streets and alleys. Although not nearly as fancy as the inner sections, it was even busier than the second wall as this is where most of the city's visitors spent their time. It was packed with various small shops, restaurants, inns, taverns, blacksmiths and much more.

Very few gave the carriage any more attention than they needed to avoid getting run over by it, even fewer giving the black-armored men with their crimson-faced helmets more than a cursory glance. The stable boys that took the reins of the horses thought nothing of it as it wasn't the first time some Noble with fancy guards had come through, nor would it be the last.

"Ah!" Colbert exclaimed when he noticed that they were slowing down. "It appears we have arrived!"

Louise nodded and took the hand of the golem as it opened the door for her and they both stepped onto the cobblestones, worn smooth over the course of many years. They were joined a few seconds later by three additional sets of armored boots, and she called them to her while Colbert paid the fee.

As he returned, he frowned a little at the sight of the four black golems gathering around his student. He of course understood that they were there for her protection, but two nobles and four guards wasn't the most subtle thing in the world.

"Miss Vallière, do you think you could leave your golems with the carriage?" he asked her. "I don't think we're going to get jumped by assassins and few would be dumb enough to try and mug us."

"I guess that makes sense" she said with a small, awkward smile. In all honesty she'd almost forgotten that they were more than simple servants.

Turning to the four mechanoids, she motioned for the carriage that had not yet been taken to a stall. "Go sit in the carriage until I return."

"**By your command."** the four droned in perfect concert, causing the poor stable boy holding the horses to look at them a little nervously.

"Um, my lady..." he began, hesitantly.

"What is it, commoner?" she asked a little irritably as turned to him.

"A-are they going to need anything, my lady?" he stammered as respectfully as he could.

"No they will be perfectly fine as they are. Do not concern yourself with them, they won't move an inch unless anything happens to the wagon." he shrank back a little as she narrowed her eyes a little at him. "Now go do your job, commoner."

"Y-yes, my lady! Right away, my lady!"

As the stable boy hurried to lead away the carriage and its dangerous cargo, Louise turned back to the Professor with a satisfied smirk.

"**Master, I must protest against this action. The mechanoid Militants cannot protect you if they are not present at your location."**

"It's alright, Legion" she mumbled quietly. "I have Professor Colbert and my magic as protection."

"**If you believe that is sufficient, I will not argue the point further."**

She didn't respond to that as she came up to the older man, instead choosing to speak up about something else.

"It's so nice when people do as they're told." she commented.

"Was that really necessary, miss Vallière?" he asked as they began the trek down the street.

"Sometimes you just need to put the commoners in their place." she said with a shrug. "He asked about my golems, so I answered him."

He let out a short sigh through his nose before speaking. "Alright. Would you like to get some lunch before we start?"

Louise nodded, having gotten quite hungry since breakfast and they both stopped at a stand to pick something up. Once they had sated their hunger with grilled chicken (or at least, she was pretty sure it was chicken) sliced over fresh-baked bread with tomatoes, Colbert let them down a side street.

"Have you ever thought about getting yourself a dagger, miss Vallière?" he asked out of the blue.

"A dagger?" she asked in confusion, not entirely sure where this had come from. "What for? We are Nobles, are we not?"

"We are." he agreed. "But many find quite quickly that a simple blade is much easier to use for every-day tasks. Using magic to slice a baguette or cut a piece of meat tends to be slightly overkill, don't you think?"

As she mulled over this, Colbert spent a moment mentally patting himself on the back for coming up with a good excuse.

It wasn't even a lie as Nobles and commoners alike often carried a small knife or dagger somewhere on their person, usually hanging from the belt, for just that sort of simple tasks. Of course one carried by a noble was usually of much finer quality than a commoner's, varying in shape, size and style depending on what the owner felt was the most useful to them. Still, the general idea was the same and it could also be used for self defense in a pinch.

Not that he'd suggest that to her, of course. And it sounded a lot better than telling her that the Headmaster had told him to get her a knife so she wouldn't decide to have someone shot for teasing her.

A win-win situation, you might say!

"That does make sense." she said eventually, bringing him out of his thoughts. "I _have_ often seen people carry daggers, although I always thought they were just for show." she admitted.

"Do you have one as well, Professor?"

The question was both innocent and logical in equal amounts, and one he had prepared for in turn.

"Indeed I do, miss Vallière." he responded as he pulled the front of his robe back a bit to reveal a dagger at his side. It was one he had gotten many years ago during his time in the King's employ, and was one of the few things he still kept from those days.

It was a fairly simple thing with a silver crossguard and pommel, the grip wrapped in a layer of leather that had grown dark with age and use. It was held in a sheath of wood wrapped in tanned leather that had been dyed a rich red color, sown together on the back. It was decorated with a band of silver set where the crossguard fit into the sheath, and another piece that capped the end of it.

He hadn't actually worn the thing since he began teaching at the Academy, and had to hunt down a replacement belt after the first one had snapped from age and disuse when he tried to put it on. But he still kept it around the shop and usually used it around his shop or whenever he took a meal in there while working on something.

Louise nodded in confirmation when she looked at it, obvious even to her very limited knowledge that it was both well-used and well-cared for. "It's a little simple-looking, but it fits you."

"Thank you." he allowed his robe to fall back into place, covering it once more. "The reason I asked was that I know a pretty decent place around here where you could get one for yourself. Would you like to go take a look?"

She nodded, feeling a little inspired by his talk about them. "I think I would like that, Professor."

As they approached the store in question, Louise couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the smell around her. They had gone down an alley to find the shop Colbert was looking for, and alleys always had a certain... quality to them.

No matter where you went, they were basically the same.

"Urgh... this place reeks." she said, poking her tongue out as she covered her nose with her hand.

It wasn't actually that dirty as even in the outer city there were people assigned to carry away the trash, in order to avoid annoying things like rats and diseases. Still, it was fairly obvious that no one had actually bothered cleaning the place in some time.

"That's pretty normal for a place where people dump their trash, miss Vallière." Colbert said, actually not too bothered about the smell.

"How do the commoners _stand_ it?"

"Oh they're used to it, more or less." he replied with a shrug. "Ah, here we go."

Louise looked up at the sign above the door depicting the silhouette of a sword and... that was it.

"_Why couldn't they have written something on there? They can't be illiterate, can they?"_ she thought to herself as Professor Colbert pushed the door open with a loud creak.

"Yesh!" a voice called out from within. "Welcome!"

The inside of the store was dimly lit by a combination of candles held in chandeliers of wrought iron and several windows. The windows were actually relatively clean, the lack of light mostly stemming from the fact that the store was in the shade of the buildings around it. Extra light was supplied by lanterns mounted on the supporting pillars on the walls, and she found she could see quite well once her eyes had adjusted.

Before her was a long wooden counter built with a line of decorative squares running along the side, the shopkeeper standing behind it. He was a short, slightly overweight man with a graying mustache with a silly cap of some sort that went down over his ears. He was dressed in a short-sleeved tunic in some off-gray color with a much darker, long-sleeved shirt underneath.

Louise thought he looked ridiculous.

The moment they stepped inside he was already rubbing his hands together, but paused as he saw the two mages.

"H-huh?" he said in a slight stammer. "Are ya noble folk!?"

"We're an honest business here. We ain't observed by the authorities or anything!" He said hurriedly, only to stop as Colbert held up a hand.

"We're here as customers." he assured the shopkeeper, making him visibly calm down. "Oh. In that case, welcome!"

As Colbert spoke with the shopkeeper, Louise took a moment to look around. The wooden floors creaked under her feet and she could smell dust in the air, knocked loose by the draft of the door opening. The walls were positively packed with every kind of weapon she could imagine, from greatswords to spears and quite a few she couldn't even name.

There were two rows of racks that went from the front of the store and towards the counter, similarly filled with even more weapons. They were however usually smaller than the ones on the walls, mostly two- to one-handed swords, axes and short spears.

"Ahh, looking for a blade for the young miss, are ya?" she heard the shopkeeper chuckle. "Most certainly! What kind are ya looking for?"

"Something not too large for her." Colbert answered. "Yet of good quality."

The shopkeeper grinned briefly at the vague request as the Professor took a few moments to look around. _"Seems like I got a pair who don't know much about weapons. Nobles on their high horses are always ready to pay a lot for something pretty!"_ he thought smugly.

"I know just th' thing!" he said and stepped away from the counter and through a curtain to the back. Louise walked over just as he came back holding a very beautiful-looking golden dagger set with glittering gemstones.

"Ooh, I like that one!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"I thought you might!" the shopkeeper said. "You have quite the eye for quality, my Lady! This kind of weapon has been really popular with th' Noble folk."

"What do you mean by that?" Colbert asked, even as Louise mouthed the words 'noble folk' to herself.

"Lately the Nobles in th' fine quarters have been armin' their servants." he said, motioning towards the gilded dagger. "An' they're often choosin' the prettier weapons for them, like this one here."

"What for?" Louise asked him.

The shopkeeper shrugged his shoulders. "They say that there's been this thief runnin' around stealin' things all over the country."

"Hmm" Colbert said, rubbing his chin. "I do think I've heard something about that. I've heard rumors among the staff that a lot of famous and precious treasures have been stolen from the Nobility."

The shopkeeper nodded enthusiastically, it was always easier for people to believe things they heard from several sources at once. He'd been making a killing for months now!

"Exactly, my Lord! It's been makin' a lot of people nervous around here."

He leaned forward over the counter towards the two nobles, as if telling a great secret.

"So this here thief, they say he's been usin' transformation magic to turn walls an' doors into dirt when hittin' the place!"

Both of them were following the story closely, nodding their heads in unison every so often.

"Does he have a name?" Louise asked.

"No one knows, young miss! But he's been dubbed _Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt_." he said, lowering his voice theatrically. "This Fouquet also likes to leave messages carved into the walls of the places he's robbed, saying 'Objects Duly Received'!"

"Not only does he steal from them, he also adds insult to injury?" she asked, almost as if she'd been personally insulted. "How rude!"

"Yes, quite!"

"So anyway." Colbert interjected, making both sets of eyes turn back on him. "How much do you want for the dagger?"

The shopkeeper smiled. _"Gotcha!" _"400 Ecu, or 600 New Gold."

"EEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH!?" she cried out, causing birds to leave the rooftops in fright. "That's highway robbery!"

The shopkeeper poked his pinky into his ear, fearing he'd gone deaf. "Yesh, that's right."

"That's pretty steep." Colbert frowned at him suspiciously. "You could buy a master-crafted sword in the inner section of the city for that sum."

"_Damn! Did I overprice it?"_ the shopkeeper thought. "I assure you, sir and madam, this is of the finest quality!"

"Hmm. Do you have anything not quite so expensive?" the Professor asked him, not convinced.

"Er... yes, certainly!" the little man motioned for a display rack at the far end of the counter. "I have quite the amount of very reasonable priced goods right over there."

As he took the ornate, golden dagger back behind the curtain for safekeeping, Colbert and Louise went over to the display pointed out to them. Sure enough, there were knives and daggers of all sizes and shapes lined up on display on a cloth-covered table that were tilted forward a few degrees.

However...

"These are... very shabby looking." Louise muttered as she picked up a dagger that had large patches of black oxide covering the blade.

"I'm forced to agree, miss Vallière." Colbert responded, looking over the collection of blades that he suspected had been partly looted. None of them were actually rusty, but a great deal looked like they hadn't been neither polished nor sharpened for years or even decades.

Letting his gaze travel upwards, he found a row of daggers that were definitely of newer make. They did not have the signs of age the others did, but several of them still had the hammer marks from when they were forged. He knew that a skilled bladesmith could get a surface that was basically smooth, but many simply took a shortcut and just filed or ground them away.

These weren't even that good, and he grimaced at the price tags for some of the ones that actually looked good. 75 Ecu for what was basically a hunting knife was very expensive, as he remembered that he'd bought his dagger for 80. And that was even _with_ the silver decorations!

Well, they would do for cutting he supposed. Even if it didn't look good, they could still be sharpened provided the steel was good enough to hold an edge.

While Colbert pondered the finer aspects of knife-sharpening, Louise had let her gaze wander across the table and over the side. There stood a pair of barrels stuffed with a multitude of old swords and spears when something caught her gaze.

She wasn't even sure why as the sword in question wasn't even particularly good-looking, nor was it in good shape. The hilt had a crossguard that looked vaguely like a rounded cross poking out about an inch on the top and bottom, and the handle was wrapped tightly in some sort of cloth.

She had to tug on it quite hard to dig it out from all the other swords, thanks to there being so many just jammed in there. Taking hold of the hilt with both hands, she almost felt like some kind of mythical Hero, pulling the Sword of Untold Destiny from its resting place. Pulling with all her strength, she was somewhat surprised when the sword finally _did_ come out with a metallic grinding noise.

She stumbled backwards a few steps from the weight of the blade, not being able to flail her arms out to catch herself with both hands on the hilt. For some reason, she didn't think to release the sword nor had she seen the barrel full of javelins standing not far behind her.

Why they were all stored points-up was anyone's guess.

Luckily for her, Colbert had noticed it happening and just barely managed to catch her in the nick of time by clamping his hand down on one of her wrists.

"Miss Vallière!" he cried, both in surprise and worry. "Be more careful!"

"Eh?" she blinked a few times before righting herself to regain her balance, swallowing hard once she saw what she'd almost fallen into. "What?"

Colbert watched as the emotions on the teenaged girl's face switched rapidly from confusion, to surprise, then fear, and finally anger when she realized how close she'd gotten to a messy death. Or just plain getting stabbed in the back by multiple sharp points, that looked pretty grimy!

Could have gotten a nasty infection! And died!

"W-WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?" she shouted at the shopkeeper who had taken cover behind the counter in order to get away from the crazy noble.

"I'm sorry my Lady!" he cried out. "I didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to be careless in a weapon shop!"

Then he suddenly realized what he'd said, and quickly tried to take his words back, but it was much too late.

The earth seemed to shake under the fury of the Noble he'd just inadvertently insulted, and he _swore_ he could hear the whistling sound of a kettle boiling.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME STUPID YOU WHINY LITTLE-"

"Miss Vallière!" Colbert shouted, now a little irritated at her. "Calm down!"

When that didn't seem to work too well, he went for the money-shot. "This is most unbecoming of a Noble!" he said loudly in the same tone he used whenever someone had _really_ done something bad. "Stop this nonsense at once!"

That seems to have done it, and just in time too as the sword lay forgotten on the floor where she'd dropped it in her fury, wand pointed at where the shopkeeper had been hiding.

"But Professor!" she protested loudly. "I almost died there thanks to his incompetence!"

But he didn't budge an inch, folding his arms as he gave her _the look_ which all parents and teachers seemed to eventually develop. "No buts, young lady!" he scolded her.

"But-" she tried again, only to be silenced by a single look from her teacher.

"This is as much your fault for not paying attention to your surroundings." he told her in a stern voice that accepted no argument.

He could see in her body language how angry and indignant she was, which he knew was a natural response in most people. The way she worked her jaw and clenched her fists so hard, he could see her knuckles whitening even from where he was standing made it pretty obvious.

Silently he agreed with her and actually applauded the amount of self control she was showing, most noble children would be throwing a tantrum at this point. Still, he couldn't simply let her take out her anger on the shopkeeper, even if he _was_ the type that cared more for profit than things like quality and safety.

Suddenly and without a word, Louise turned on her heel and marched out of the shop, slamming the door behind her. A move so satisfyingly effective at showing anger that it was probably as old as the very invention of the door, itself!

"_Well, at least she didn't blow anything up."_ Colbert thought with a sigh. He'd always wondered why all teenagers seemed to act out their anger in the same way, one of the grand mysteries of life he supposed.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged shopkeeper had cautiously reappeared when the source of his fear had left the shop and was wiping his forehead with a rag. "Founder's teeth, I thought I was going to die." he muttered.

Reaching down, Colbert picked up the sword that his student had almost gotten herself killed over and took a quick look at it. He'd seen many swords in his day and this one wasn't anything special in his eyes, although he didn't have to be an expert to tell it was old.

It was a simple one-edged design just like what you'd expect from a knife, with a part of the bronze crossguard extending out over the back of the blade. There was also an extra piece of brass that connected with the side of the blade and covered the first inch before the edge, probably a rain guard of some kind. It was about the same size as a bastard sword with a similar hilt that was wide and long enough to get a good grip, ending with a vaguely beak-shaped cap also made from bronze that pointed in the direction of the edge.

Most modern-day swords were of the double-edged type for a great number of reasons, although he only knew a few himself. The most obvious was that there was no wrong way of swinging one or putting it back in a scabbard, and if one side got blunt you could simply turn it around and use the other one. He knew some light cavalry used a type of curved, single-edged sword called a saber, but this wasn't one of them.

It was a type of design that had resurfaced every so often in history, but was often associated with a certain time period in Germania. That happened quite often as people didn't always feel the need to keep track of what had happened centuries before they were born.

Those who did not pay attention to history were doomed to repeat it, as they say.

The King at the time, Friedrich Hartmann the Fourth, had not been a very good king to his people and had been afraid of a peasant rebellion. In an attempt to keep military weapons out of their hands, he made it a law that only those working for the crown was allowed to carry swords. This meant that unless you were in the military or working as a guard, you weren't allowed to have effective fighting weapons, he thought.

Of course, not only was he wrong about the whole effective weapon bit, but it also didn't stop a servant from stabbing him to death with a knife while he was taking a bath.

But between there two events there was a significant upswing in bladesmith activity, as they all scrambled to figure out a way to satisfy a market that wanted a product they weren't allowed to sell.

People still needed to protect themselves and their homes from bandits and such, who didn't obey the law and therefore suddenly found themselves at an advantage.

What they finally did was to essentially take the design of the venerable hunting knife and scale it up into the size of a sword. Although the line had blurred quite a bit since then, the King had also set out a definition for what was considered what, as even he didn't expect people to follow laws they couldn't understand properly.

A sword was sharpened on both sides, often had a fuller of some kind, had a full crossguard and had what was known as a "push tang" that was completely covered, often with a combination of wood and leather. This made it so that your hands wouldn't hurt as much from the vibrations when the blade struck something or the other way around.

A knife on the other hand had only a single edge, lacked a fuller, tended to have only a finger-guard to keep the hand from sliding out on the edge. It also had a full tang design that known as a "slab tang" meaning it followed the contours of the handle, sandwiched between two pieces of wood.

The G_roßes __Messer_, or _Great Knife_ in Germanian, was a rather wide, hefty blade was about 62 centimeters long on average that ended in a slightly raised tip. Just like a knife it often lacked a fuller (although some added them anyway), a substantial finger guard and the same slab tang design with wood held on each side with rivets. So when anyone tried to have them arrested for the owning of a sword, they could simply point out the various features that in fact made it a knife.

Later models often had the handles wrapped in cloth or leather – although the latter was substantially more effective – and the guard often included a _Nagel._ This nail-like (Nagel literally meant 'nail') protrusion jutted out from the right side and was meant to protect the user's hands.

It was unclear why King Friedrich never amended the law to include this, most people simply assumed he was too drunk, busy or just plain lazy to bother with it. Nevertheless the design proved fairly effective and was quite popular, bladesmiths continuing their production even long after the law was removed. It was further refined over the centuries and eventually became the modern saber, which was slowly gaining ground for mounted troops.

Although the knights still refused to use it, especially the various Mage Knights in employ with the crown who often used sword-wands.

They said they liked them the way they were and didn't want no silly curved swords, no sir!

"Ah, so... have you decided on something, my Lord?"

Colbert was jolted out of his thoughts by the shopkeeper who had finally managed to get his act together enough to ask the question, turning back to him with the sword still in his hand.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to buy the sword." he said, motioning at the blade. "I'll, uh... give you a good price."

Please get out of my shop, was the untold meaning and Colbert couldn't blame the man. He looked again at the sword in his hand, it was hardly the knife that he had in mind for Louise, but she seemed interested in it.

"_Well, just having it might give her the confidence boost she needs."_ he thought grudgingly to himself. It wasn't bigger than that he could easily heft it in one hand without training, but to her it might as well have been a greatsword.

Actually that would probably be better now that he thought about it, she might have been tempted to stab someone with a knife but chop someone with a big, two-handed weapon? Unlikely.

"I'll take it." he said as he thumped the sword down on the counter, which also let him spot a few more flaws that he hadn't before. "Provided you also throw in a scabbard and a maintenance kit." he added.

"Ah, yes of course!" the shopkeeper smiled as he took out a small package wrapped in waxed paper held together by a length of string and placed it on the counter. "That will be a hundred and-"

He cut himself off as Colbert gave him the sour look of someone who _knew_ he was trying to cheat him.

"Um... I mean..." he stammered as he mentally back-pedaled. "S-seventy! Seventy Ecu for you, my Lord!"

"Very well!" the Professor was suddenly all smiles again as he counted out the money and slid it over. "Here you go, my good man."

The shopkeeper slumped a little as he took the money. "I'll... go get a scabbard for you right away." he muttered, feeling defeated.

Why couldn't he get his regular clients of gullible Nobles that usually came to his shop instead of this person?

* * *

After she had stormed out of the shop, Louise had gone straight for the nearest bench she could find that wasn't in a _stinking alley_ and plopped down. The bench had been occupied by a teenaged couple and an old lady, but they had quickly vacated after taking one look at her expression and the five-pointed star clasp that held her cloak.

After a sitting there for a while in the fresh air and sunshine, she slowly started to calm down. She probably shouldn't have stormed out like that, but the shock and the fear of having been so close to getting impaled had just been too much!

She briefly thought about having the man reported to the guards or something, surely it was illegal to just set things out where people could hurt themselves on them, right?

"**Master, I am detecting an elevated heart rate and breathing consistent of stress. Are you in danger?"**

As Legion's voice cut into her voice, she shook her head no before realizing he couldn't see it.

"No, I'm fine." she said in a low voice that she knew he could hear, despite all the noise around her. "I was just nearly in an accident, that's all."

"**This could have been prevented had you taken your Militants with you."**

"Yeah, yeah. You don't need to remind me."

"**Their purpose is to protect you, master. They cannot preform this function if you leave them behind."**

"I said I got it!" she hissed, startling a pigeon that had landed on the backrest of the bench next to her. And Legion waited a good ten seconds before he spoke again.

"**Have I displeased you, my Prophet?"**

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that." she said as she leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes.

"**My apologies, my Master. I will refrain from calling you that in the future if it is your wish."**

"See to it that you do."

They then sat in a comfortable silence until she started hearing... music? She tilted her head this way and that before opening her eyes and looking around. Nobody else seemed to be reacting and the sound of it didn't change when she moved her head, so...

"Legion." she said slowly. "Are you playing music in my head?"

"**The Maker would often ask to listen to music whenever he was upset, a sentiment shared by many throughout the ages."**

Louise for some reason had a mental image of the bald man from her dream, furiously marching into a room, slamming the door shut behind him and then shouting: _"LEGION! GIVE ME MY DAMN MUSIC BEFORE I KILL SOMEONE!"_ at the ceiling.

She doubted that the great Founder of Nod would have done something so childish, but the thought made her giggle a bit.

"**Often he simply told me to play music, but sometimes when he was in a better mood he would be specific. The piece you are hearing this moment is called '_Le Quattro Stagioni' _or _The Four Seasons._"**

Now that she thought about it, the rather upbeat melody followed by a more mellow tune did invoke a sense of spring with its mix of brilliant sunshine and rainy days.

"It's very nice." she agreed musingly.

"**It was composed in 1720 by a man named _Antonio Vivaldi_, considered one of the greatest Baroque composers of all time."**

"Hush, Legion." she whispered distractedly as she once more leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. The sounds of the bustling street became distant to her as she focused only on the pleasant melody of violins and many instruments she couldn't even name.

Music had always been an important thing to the people of Halkeginia for as long as anyone could remember. The Church kept countless pieces that had been preserved since the days of the Founder, and composers fought like mad dogs every year to present something new to the Royal Family during the annual _Concert de Tristain._

But she had never heard music like this, both alien and familiar at the same time. She was halfway through the summer part of the 42-minute concert when she thought she heard someone calling her name.

"_...iss...lerié..."_

It didn't matter to her much at first, she couldn't care less but it got harder and harder to ignore.

"_Miss Vall...é...re..you...ight?"_

She was jolted out of her happy place when a hand was suddenly placed on her shoulder and her eyes snapped open to see a worried-looking Professor Colbert looking down at her.

"Miss Vallière!"

"Yes!" she responded, a little frustratedly even as the music faded from her head. "What?"

The Professor frowned a little. "I've been calling your name for almost five minutes now, miss Vallière." he said, a tony of worry in his voice. "Are you feeling alright? It looks like you have been crying."

Louise blinked and put her fingers to her cheek and found that sure enough, they were wet and she suddenly felt the need to sniffle. Founder's might, had the music been so moving that she'd been crying like a babe without noticing it?

"I'm fine! Perfectly fine!" she said quickly, drawing in a long inhale through her nose that manifested as a drawn-out sniffle to clear it while wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"I just got some dust in my eyes, that's all!" she said with a watery smile.

Colbert raised an eyebrow, not really believing her for a single moment, but willing to humor her. "Very well miss Vallière. Would you like a napkin?" he said, taking out a clean, plain napkin from a pocket and holding it out to her.

"Yes, please." she said gratefully, thankful for the opportunity.

After she had made herself presentable again, they both sat on the bench for a little while before he spoke up again.

"I'm sorry you were upset at the close call, miss Vallière." he said apologetically. "I admit I didn't expect the place to be so run down, it was quite a lot better when I last visited it. They must have switched owners."

"No I was just angry, Professor." she sighed, couldn't he just let it go?

"But when I got here..."

"It wasn't because of that. I was just listening to some very beautiful, moving music." she finally admitted.

"Music?" Colbert asked, slightly confused as he looked around similar to what she did earlier. "I didn't hear any music."

"Urgh, it's..." Louise always felt silly whenever she admitted to hearing things in her head, even though she knew the Professor had seen proof that it existed. "My familiar was playing it for me."

She made a kind of spinning motion with her index finger next to her temple. "In here, like how he speaks to me."

"In your head?" he asked, before suddenly remembering. "Oh that's right! I do seem to recall you mentioning that you shared a telepathic connection with it."

"Tele... pathic?" she asked, having never heard the term before.

"It's not a word you hear very often." he explained. "The literal translation is 'distant sensation' and is often used to describe a form of extrasensory perception, like when you feel the elements in action while casting a spell."

"I see." she said thoughtfully, not wanting to admit that she'd never actually experienced anything like that. "Thank you for explaining, Professor."

"That's my job." he said jovially before suddenly clicking his fingers. "Ah! I'd almost forgotten what I was gonna say!"

Reaching down beside him he pulled out the sword, now with a scabbard with brass fittings that actually matched it reasonably well in looks, and the little package containing the maintenance kit.

"O-oh!" she said, recognizing the sword. "You bought it for me? I... you shouldn't have." she said in surprise. "After I ran out like that, I didn't..."

"Nonsense miss Vallière!" he said patiently as he handed them over to her, making her grunt a little at the weight of it. "It's not what I had in mind for you, but I figured since you put so much effort into pulling it out I'd buy it for you."

"You shouldn't have." she mumbled as she set it in her lap, running her fingers over the worn leather of the sheath. "I don't know why I picked it in particular, I just felt curious. I don't even know how to use it."

He smiled in a comforting manner. "Don't worry about it, consider it a gift. Cleaning it will give you something to do when you're bored, and it'll look nice hanging on the wall."

"I guess you're right, Professor." she said, her lips curving upwards into a tiny smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, miss Vallière."

"What's this for, though?" she asked as she turned the little off-white package over in her hands, hearing what sounded like a thick liquid moving around inside.

"A maintenance kit." he explained to her. "Soldiers are made to carry them whenever they're in the field. They usually contain a whetstone, a bottle containing an oil mixture for sharpening and polishing and some rags."

Seeing her somewhat uncertain expression he chuckled a bit. "I know it's not something that you'd normally consider doing as a Noble, but I can assure you that all the mage knights do their own weapon maintenance."

"Even mother?" she asked curiously, having trouble imagining her mother sitting hunched over one of those stone wheels she'd seen blacksmiths use.

"_Especially_ your mother." he emphasized with a nod. "Do you think she'd let anyone else mess around with - and possibly damage - her sword?"

"Absolutely not!" she confirmed, eyes lighting up as she now understood what he was telling her. "I once saw her literally throw one of the serving staff out of the room after he'd accidentally knocked over the stand she keeps it in."

Colbert nodded, pleased with her understanding of the lesson he'd been trying to teach her. "This is also true for more than just knights and soldiers, though. Can you guess what the unwritten rule of craftsmen is, miss Vallière?"

She rubbed her chin as she pondered this question. If her mother acted like that, and people in other professions had similar sentiments, then... "Never... touch another person's tools?"

"Exactly!" he smiled. "Or at the very least not without their permission."

She hummed faintly at this, happy that her favorite teacher was satisfied with her performance she went back to examining the repair kit. "So this will be all I need?"

"For now, anyway. That probably is just good enough that it _works_ with most weapons, but there's always better quality oil and whetstones."

"Just like everything else, huh?"

"Yes." squinting up at the sky, he tried to judge the time according to the sun's position. It was a skill that he'd heard was common with farmers and such, but never managed to fully learn himself. "I do believe we should start getting back to the carriage though, or we might miss dinner at the Academy."

She nodded and when she went to stand up, Colbert couldn't help but chuckle at how she fumbled a little with the weight of the sword and the little package at the same time. "Here, let me show you how to carry that."

* * *

After Colbert helped Louise to strap the sword to her torso with what was essentially a _giant belt_ (A Baldric, he called it) they made their way back to where they left the carriage. It was still there, of course, although they found a few local children peeking in through the window at the four, motionless men that sat within.

She wasn't sure what exactly about them had been so interesting but children were children, she supposed. She had one of the stable boys chase them away and once the carriage was moved out of its housing, ordered her golems to take them back to the Academy.

Traffic was a little less than it had been when they arrived so they made good time and were soon out on the open road once more.

The trip home seemed to go much faster than the one to the capital, mostly because Louise had once more asked Legion to play that wonderful music to her again. Without interruptions, she listened to the entire thing from start to finish, completely lost in the flowing notes from another world.

But as all things comes to an end, so did the music and she was forced to open her eyes and allow the real world to come back to her once more. Once again, she felt wetness on her cheeks and a rather curious-looking Colbert who was already holding out another napkin to her.

"That must be a very beautiful song, miss Vallière." he said gently as she wiped her face and blew her nose.

She nodded a few times, having to take a few moments to compose herself before she could answer. "It's like having an entire concerto in my head, Professor."

She blinked hard a few times, trying to stop more tears from coming at the mere memory. "Perhaps a dozen violins or more, all playing perfectly in tune with each other. And many other instruments, I think I heard a harpsichord but I'm not certain."

He raised both his eyebrows in surprise at this information. "A voice in your head I can understand, but an entire orchestra?" he asked in wonder. "Was it not loud? I know I have sat too far in the front many times during a concerto, my ears often ringing a little afterwards."

She shook her head, a little puzzled herself as she agreed that should have been the case. "No, I know what you mean professor, but this was more like I was standing at the perfect distance somehow."

He leaned his chin in his hand as he took a moment to let this information sink in. He no longer had any concepts that applied to miss Vallière's familiar, as with this it had easily eclipsed any Dollmaker he had ever heard of.

"What a marvelous thing you summoned, miss Vallière." he said with a quiet sort of reverence as he leaned his hands on his knees. "The more it shows of its capabilities, the more envious I get of you." he admitted.

"Of me?" she asked in surprise before bursting out into giggles.

"What's so funny?." Colbert asked as he furrowed his brows a little, not sure if he should feel offended or not. "Are you laughing at me?"

"Haha, no it's not that!" she choked out between giggles, and it took a few seconds before she could talk again. "Oh Founder, I needed that." she said as they finally subsided.

"I wasn't laughing at you Professor, I swear!" Louse said with a smile. "It's just the first time I've ever heard anyone say they envied me."

"I'm sure you've heard it before," he said as he felt the edges of his mouth twitch upwards a little on their own. He'd never heard her laugh like that before and found it had raise his spirits, as well. "from the commoners, if nothing else."

Louise hummed as she briefly rubbed her chin. "You're right, but they're commoners." she shrugged. "Of course they're envious of us nobles. I just never expected to hear it from another noble, especially a teacher."

"I mean it, miss Vallière." he said honestly. "Your familiar is opening doors for you that might as well be featureless walls for the rest of us."

"I never thought of it like that, but it's true." she mused as she looked at the silent protector sitting at her side. Always ready, always so efficient and reliable. Always loyal. "I wasn't very impressed with him at first, but the more he shows me the more am I getting the feeling he's everything I ever wanted." she smiled.

"It is very capable." he agreed. "Although I wish he wasn't so... war-like." Colbert mused out loud. "I couldn't help but notice from the start that everything about it" he motioned at the same black soldier. "is geared for battle."

"Well, yes." Louise said, raising her eyebrow. "Isn't it natural to try and protect the one you serve? I mean... they're practically my own version of the Tristain Musketeers under the Princess' employ are they not?"

"Hmm." he wasn't completely convinced, but... "You do make valid points, miss Vallière." he conceded at last. "I daresay they are far more effective than the brave women guarding our Princess, though."

She shrugged a little. "I've never actually seen any of her Musketeers in person, but I've heard they're all very brave and loyal women. Even if they are just commoners."

"I have from time to time." Colbert replied. "Don't underestimate them just because they are commoners, miss Vallière. They train as hard as anyone I've ever seen to be able to match anyone that attempts to assassinate her, be they mages or commoners."

"And all they have are ordinary muskets and steel plate armor, your musketeers on the other hand..."

"Militants." she corrected him, causing him to blink. "Legion calls them Militants, although he hasn't told me exactly why." she said, muttering the last bit in a lower voice.

"Ah" Colbert nodded, accepting her correction."well your Militants on the other hand are armed with these incredibly effective muskets that I can't even begin to understand how they work." he said honestly, part of him wishing that he could be allowed to take one apart for study.

"And they're armored with..." he trailed off as he studied the black plate of the soldier across from him. "with... hm. I don't actually know what it is." he admitted. "It looks hard and rigid enough to be metal, but it doesn't have the right texture."

"I thought it was something similar to insect carapace at first, but I simply don't know." he said with a shrug.

Louise hadn't really thought much about it either, and she turned to the black soldier next to her and in the afternoon sunlight, looked closely at the armor it wore.

It was just as the Professor had said, it looked nothing like any type of metal she'd ever seen before. It was black, of course, but it wasn't the shiny black that she often saw on insects but a non-reflective matte color she couldn't quite place.

"It's almost leathery in a way." she reflected as she ran first her fingertips and then her entire hand over the vambrace that protected its arm. "Smooth with just a tiny bit of friction to it, yet hard and unyielding much like metal."

Colbert had pulled out his notebook again and was scribbling furiously in order to note down her descriptions on the page next to the picture he made that morning. "Continue, miss Vallière."

"I don't know what else to say." she said helplessly with a small shrug. On a whim she reached up to knock her fingers at the chest plate, making a dull 'thock, thock, 'thock' kind of sound.

"Hmm" the Professor said as he tapped his lower lip with his pen. "doesn't sound like any metal I've ever heard, so it seems I was right."

Louise nodded and scooted back to look out of the window. She was surprised to see how far they'd gotten during their discussion about her familiar, as she was starting to recognize the countryside. She was just about to ask Legion if he knew any more music of this Vivaldi person when she saw another carriage rolling past her in the opposite direction.

It was pure chance and curiosity that led her to peek into the other carriage and she raised an eyebrow as she saw the very maid who had brought her food the night before sitting in it.

"Huh." she muttered to herself. "What's Siesta doing out at this time of day?"

"Siesta?" Colbert asked in confusion for a moment. "Are you talking about the maid who helped us find your familiar the other day?"

"Yes." she blinked as she turned back to him. "She was in the carriage that just passed us."

"That _is_ odd." the Professor agreed before he shrugged. "Perhaps she is running an errand of some kind?"

"Perhaps." she responded. "I hope she won't be long. She brought me food the night of the duel with excellent service, and I thought I'd ask her if she could do it again tonight."

Colbert nodded in understanding, having a few members of the serving staff himself that he knew by name and often asked for due to their skill and assistance.

"Maybe you could ask if she'd be interested in being your personal servant?" he suggested helpfully. "It's not unusual that the juniors pick personal servants while in school to then move with them back home when they graduate."

"Really?" she blinked. "Wouldn't that be a huge hassle for the Academy to constantly have to hire new people?"

"Not at all!" he smiled, preparing for another lesson. "In fact, there's a long queue of people waiting to get employment as serving staff at the Academy since they know people get swapped out every year."

"The Headmaster implemented that system when he first got the post, and it turned out to be very successful for both Nobles and commoners. Some posts like the Section Heads don't swap out like that unless they choose it themselves, and sometimes two Nobles will get into arguments over the same servant, but..."

"Interesting." Louise said with a small tilt of her head. "I guess it's easier to get experienced help if you've been around them constantly for three years."

"Precisely, miss Vallière." he said before rubbing his chin thoughtfully.. "Although it doesn't usually happen in the sophomore year, it's not unheard of and shouldn't be much of an issue."

"I could talk with the headmaster once we get back, if you'd like?"

"Thank you, Professor." she said, still smiling and getting a nod in return. "I've been saying that a lot lately, seems like." she said a little awkwardly, a little unused to having someone be so... helpful.

"It's alright, miss Vallière." he reassured her. "I often feel like I can't do enough for you most of the time anyway, although don't get too used to the thought of me buying you things." he warned her gently.

"I won't, Professor!"

* * *

The rest leg of the trip was uneventful and they got back just as most people were starting to leave the dining hall. Not wanting a repeat of the morning she sent her Militants up with the sword to wait for her in her room while she headed in to get dinner.

As she stepped into the room, a brief hush went over the room as everyone turned to look at her and for a moment, she feared she'd cause another stampede. However, when they noticed that she was alone they all breathed out a sigh of relief and soon, conversation started up again.

"_I didn't think I'd feel so sad to go from being teased and insulted to making people feel this unnerved in my presence."_ she thought to herself as she watched some of the freshmen students stand up and walk out with a bit of a hurry in their steps.

Well, it was certainly an improvement over running and screaming. Right now she wasn't feeling very picky as long as it _was_ an improvement, and with that in mind she went and sat down at her usual seat.

People rarely sat next to her in the first place, so there was no one there she could scare away and she hadn't even had time to order dinner before the whispers started. They were more hushed than usual, but she could still hear some of them.

"Hey, it's the Ze-"

"Shh, be _quiet_ you moron!"

"Yeah. Don't give her an excuse to go after you!"

"But she doesn't even have the Thunder Warriors with her."

"That just means they could be anywhere!"

She snorted a little at their paranoia. Now that she wasn't feeling so glum anymore, she was actually starting to find it pretty funny. Ever since it started becoming common knowledge in the school that all her spells exploded, she'd been called Louise the Zero and a failure everywhere she looked. This wasn't what she had in mind when she'd wished they would stop, but it'd do for now.

"Legion." she murmured.

"**Yes, master?"**

"Do you have any suitable music for dining?" she asked as she made a come-hither motion for one of the maids.

"**Yes master. For this I can recommend the _Piano Concerto No. 21_ by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart."**

"Sounds like a Germanian name." she reflected as her head was filled with violins and a mellow-sounding instrument she couldn't quite place. It did remind her vaguely of a harpsichord in the way it was played, but it was much softer and she found she preferred the more mellow notes as opposed to the sharp ones of the harpsichord.

She nodded her thanks to the servant to brought her her food, and ate it to the soft notes of yet another of the Great Masters while ignoring the whispers of her schoolmates.

Once she was done eating and the song had finished, she felt in good spirits once more and thought that she'd ask the Head Chef about Siesta.

"Commoner, is the Head Chef available?" she asked the maid that came to collect the empty plates.

The maid blinked at the sudden question but soon answered with: "Yes my lady, he's in the kitchen right now. Would you like me to fetch him for you?"

She shook her head and pushed her chair out to stand up. "No, I just wanted to make sure. You can continue with your duties." she dismissed her.

"As the lady wishes." the maid said with a slight bow of her head as Louise got back up to head into the kitchens. It was still quite busy as several trolleys were being prepared to take food to the students that had wanted to eat in their rooms, and there were dishes that needed to be cleaned.

She found Marteau standing with soap suds up to his elbows as he quickly cleaned dishes with ease born from long experience, and she had to raise her voice a little over the din.

"Head Chief Marteau?"

"Hm?" the large man turned his head around to look at who had called for him, and beamed as he saw Louise. "Ah, Our Shield! Welcome!"

"Eh?" she blinked in surprise even as he hurried to wipe his hands off on a kitchen towel. "What do you mean, Our Shield?"

"That's what he started calling you after you defeated Mr. Gramont, miss Vallière." the younger man that had been washing the plates clean of soap after the Head Chef was done with them called out next to him.

"Yes, indeed!" The big man said as he held his arms out as if to embrace her, making Louise take a step backwards just in case. "You'll be setting an example for years to come, I'm sure of it!"

"Ah, well!" she smiled at the recognition she got for her actions. "I needed to knock Guiche down a peg anyway for all the insults he's thrown at me over the past year!" she gloated as she struck a pose with her fists resting on her hips.

Marteau nodded enthusiastically. "Indeed! And you did so in spades! Now, what can I do for you?"

Oh yeah! "Could we step outside for a bit?" she said over the noise in the background. "I needed to ask you something."

"Of course!" the Head Chef said before leading her to the door where they got their deliveries and once it was closed after them, turned to her once more. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if it would be alright if I took Siesta as my personal maid?" she asked him without preamble, her brows furrowing a bit as she noticed that he'd gotten a rather severe expression on his face. "Is... there something wrong?"

"Siesta..." the big man began slowly, unsure how to break it to the Noble girl in front of him. "Is no longer with us."

* * *

"Ah, welcome back Professor!" Old Osmond greeted Colbert as miss Longueville opened the door upon hearing the knocks. "How did the trip go?"

"It went well, Headmaster." he responded as the secretary closed the door behind him and he went to sit down in the chair in front of the desk. "Although it didn't go... quite as planned."

"Oh?"

"It turned out that the weapon shop had gotten a new owner that ran things a little differently." Colbert told him as he started to recount the happenings of the day.

"I see, a sword eh?" The Headmaster mused afterwards. Miss Longueville had gone down to fetch dinner for the two as Colbert told the story of what had happened during the day, leaving the two men alone. "Not as useful as a good knife, but I guess the chance of her drawing it on a classmate is less likely."

"Exactly my thought, Headmaster." Colbert nodded. "And it seems to have given her the confidence boost you intended, so your plan appears to have been a success."

"Excellent!" the old man grinned. "Now, tell me more about the music you said miss Vallière's familiar was playing. I'm curious what it sounded like!"

"I didn't hear it myself, Headmaster." he admitted, much to Osmond's chagrin. "She appears to have a telepathic connection to it, and it was somehow playing through this connection."

"Odd" Osmond mused. "but interesting all the same. It's like every time we think we have it pegged down, it does something different."

"Yes, I've noticed this as well." Colbert said before he remembered what else he was going to ask. "Also, miss Vallière wanted to make one of the maids her personal servant."

"Unusual for a second year, but I don't see why not." the Headmaster said with a nod. "Did she say which one?"

"Yes, a girl named Siesta I believe it was."

"Oh." Colbert blinked as the old mage's face fell. "Oh dear. I'm afraid that's out of my hands, Professor."

"What do you mean?" Colber asked with some puzzlement. "Did she quit her post at the Academy?"

"No, you see-" but before Old Osmond had a chance to tell him, the door to his office burst open to reveal miss Longueville who was panting as if she'd been running.

"Headmaster!"

Both men turned to look at her in alarm at this sudden intrusion, she continued before either had a chance to ask. "Miss Vallière just jumped on a horse and left the Academy!"

"_WHAAAAAAAAAT?"_ they both shouted in unison.

* * *

"_Damn it! Damn it all to damnation!"_ Louise Françoise de la Vallière thought angrily to herself as she rode in a gallop down the same road as they'd taken earlier, heading towards the mansion of Count Mott.

When she'd been told by Marteau that her contract been transferred to another noble she had at first been annoyed that someone had gotten to her before she did. When he told her to whom she was _angry!_

She'd heard of Count Mott several times before she even came to the Academy, as her mother had sometimes remarked what a despicable man he was. How she didn't understand how he still had the otherwise respectable post of Palace Messenger while he acted the way he did.

"Unbefitting of a Noble" was the nicest thing she'd ever said about him. Often she said much worse things when she didn't think Louise or her sisters were nearby to overhear it.

Lustful shame of Nobles everywhere, philanderer, slimeball.

She'd heard even her father comment that he was abusing the power of his name and title both, that _he needed start behaving properly before someone forced him__._

At the time she hadn't understood more than that he was a bad man, but it wasn't until later that she understood _how_ bad.

Enemy of women, scum, corrupt. He was suspected of siphoning money from the Crown, but no evidence was ever found.

Had it been any other Noble she might have just shrugged, lamented the loss of a good servant and moved on.

Had it been any other maid she probably wouldn't have cared so much, but Siesta had gone out of her way to make her happy. It was something as simple as bringing her food that she hadn't asked for, but the people who actually did nice things to Louise were people she _remembered._

And she was _not_ going to leave someone like that, commoner or no, with a person like Count Mott.

This was _absolutely_ _unacceptable!_

And so she rode at a full gallop to save her even though she was not a knight, nor did she have any armor and even though the horse was brown and not white. She vividly remembered the dream she had, what the Hammer of War and Peace had whispered to her while she forged the Blood of the Gods.

_Protect the innocent._

She must not fail.

She thanked her mother and her older sister Cattleya for making her take riding lessons as a girl, as this wouldn't have worked nearly as well had she not been this good at horseback riding.

"Legion!" she shouted over the wind. "Summon as many musketeers as you can and send them to my location!"

"**Acknowledged."**

Suddenly a brief, blaring kind of hum went off in her head.

"**Warning – This action will almost completely deplete our stores of Tiberium."**

"**I advise caution or we will not have enough to build a Refinery when the time comes."**

Louise screwed her eyes shut in frustration. Shit! She'd completely forgotten that they had spending restraints!

"Then build as many as you can without exceeding that limit!"

"**Understood."**

She didn't know how many that made, and she really was not in the state of mind to calculate it either. "How many does that make?" she asked under her breath, unsure if he'd hear her.

"**Seven squads, master."**

She buried her face in the mane of the horse as it galloped down the road, feeling each pull of its powerful muscles. "Send the one that normally guards me, as well."

"**Yes, Commander."**

"Also... I have a special request."

She _would_ not fail, not this time.

* * *

When she finally arrived, the horse was just starting to get winded from how hard she'd been riding it. The two guards who stood at the gate looked at her suspiciously, one of them calling out to her.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

Letting her slightly winded horse trot up to them, she ran a hand through her wind-swept hair and gave them the hardest look she could muster.

"I am Louise Françoise de la Vallière!" she called out loudly in return. "And I have an important message for Count Mott!"

Luckily, the Vallière name was well-known throughout Tristain and she was quickly let through. A guard escorted her to a waiting room and told her the Count would see her shortly.

The walk down the halls was nothing out of the ordinary, but when she did arrive in the waiting room she couldn't help the sneer that pulled at her lips. The room was extraordinarily gaudy, filled with marble musts and paintings. Only the busts were _literal_ busts and all the paintings all had naked women of some manner in them, which underlined just how depraved he was.

She spent several minutes pacing the expensive carpet that covered most of the floor, trying to avoid looking at the artwork and instead spending a few minutes looking over the bookshelf that filled one wall.

"Legion" she whispered under her breath. "what's our progress?"

"**All eight squads are headed your way, master. Estimated time of arrival is T-minus 10 minutes."**

She blinked at this, how was that even possible.

"That is amazing. How is that even possible?"

"**Approximately 26 minutes, Master. Your Militants does not fatigue however, and they are physically superior to humans. It should come as no surprise that they are considerably faster, as well."**

"Yes, but..."

"**You have also been stationary for over 15 minutes, Master."**

Louise's brows pulled together slightly, had she been here for that long? _"Count Mott is surely taking his time."_ she grumbled silently to herself.

"**They will be in position shortly, ready to strike at your command."**

She was just about to ask if they had brought what she requested when she heard the door open and she turned from the bookshelf, leading with her head as she had been taught. Walking in was the Count himself, all puffed up in his red satin outfit with that silly, pleated white high-collar around his neck.

Louise forced herself not to wrinkle her nose at the pungent smell of perfume that seemed to surround the man like haze. What was wrong with taking a bath like normal people?

"Count Mott, I presume?" she asked, doing her best to channel the way her mother spoke. "You had me waiting for quite some time."

"My apologies, miss Vallière." he replied smoothly. "I am quite the busy man and you caught me while I was in the middle of something. I did not expect someone to arrive so suddenly and without sending word first." he said, a tone of annoyance in his voice as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

A certain decorum was to be maintained between Nobles, but it was quite obvious to her that he was doing only as much as he felt was necessary in his own home.

"The guard said you had a message for me. Tell it to me and leave so that I may return to my studies." he said in the tone of someone who was used to being obeyed.

"I, er.." she cleared her throat once as she tried to formulate herself, but decided to go straight to the point. "I am here for the maid you acquired from the Academy today, Siesta."

Count Mott raised an eyebrow at her, as if questioning the very reason of her existence. "The maid came here under my request and is now lawfully bound to me and this manor. I will not simply give up a treasured member of my household just because someone asks me to!" he recited disdainfully.

Louise flexed her jaw slightly, itching to just pull out her wand and blast this pompous fool all the way to Gallia. But instead, she said: "Would you be willing to allow me to buy her contract, then?"

He looked at her quietly for a few seconds, and the urge to either blow him up or simply punch him in the face grew stronger as he seemed to look at her like she was a piece of poor-quality meat.

Then he let out a bark of laughter and grinned at her in a way that made her feel very uncomfortable. "Oh really? Do you intend to buy her like you would a piece of land? An item which caught your fancy?" he sneered at her.

"Or is it for some other reason that you do not wish to say, hmm?"

She swallowed hard, not trusting her voice she nodded once, which seemed to delight him.

"Ahh, I see! Well then, this changes things!" he purred as he started walking towards her. Her first instinct was to straight-out dodge him but managed to simply scoot to the side.

Oddly enough, Mott's path did not change to follow her but instead went over to the bookcase. Trailing his hand over the leather-bound backs he selected one that he pulled out halfway, pushed in another and pulled out yet a third.

Louise jumped slightly as she heard a dull clank from the bookcase and then with the clanking of gears the whole thing first slid back, and then recessed into the side of the wall. A secret passage! Which she'd been standing right in front of without even noticing!

"Come, come, miss Vallière!" he said in a sing-song voice as he walked down the steps of a stone staircase that spiraled down below, lit sparingly by torches.

She swallowed once more and followed him down.

The stairs went down for quite some time and the air down here was dank and cold, causing her to shiver slightly as it touched her skin. She'd already lost the warmth she gained from the hard ride and the sweat she'd accumulated made her clothes feel cold and sticky.

If the Count noticed, he made no comment and instead kept talking. "I am quite surprised to find a young woman with views so similar to my own!" he said, sounding pleased.

"I-I don't know what you mean." she stammered slightly from cold and nerves, feigning indifference. "I simply desire the maid's services."

"Oh you don't need to hide it from me, miss Vallière!" he said in the smug tone she'd started to really hate. "I fully understand that Nobles such as us sometimes have certain... needs and desires that need to be met."

So that's what he meant! Louise cursed herself as she realized what she'd just said and how he seemed to interpret the words. She felt really dirty when she realized that he must have assumed she had the same sort of desires as he did. She wasn't Kirche for Brimir's sake!

But... she could work with this. All she needed to do was to act like that blasted Germanian and she'd be able to do without Legion's help! A quick glance down at her barely-existing curves made her force to rethink that notion a little, because there was no way she'd be able to use her body in the same way.

Simply talking like she did would have to do, although she might have to gargle Iodine or something afterward to make sure she didn't catch Kirche's stupid!

"Ah, you caught me!" she said airily. "It's so hard to keep the flame of my passion hidden!" doing her best to imitate the way she spoke.

Ugh. Louise almost felt like she was losing a vital part of herself!

But it appeared to be working as she heard the Count's laugh in front of her. "Exactly! But down here I can be myself, and I have amassed quite the collection to sate my needs!"

She thought she was prepared for what she might find in Count Mott's manor. She had spent the entire trip here imagining young women dressed in super-short variations of the regular maid's dresses. Revealing their cleavage and their panties while they were made to push their chests and butts out for every action on the perverted Count's orders!

But reality, as she'd come to realize so often lately, was often much worse than she could have imagined.

At the bottom of the stairs was a heavy wooden door, reinforced with bands of iron and sealed from the outside by a bar held in place with a padlock. The Count kept talking about how he'd been forced to build this in secrecy as he unlocked the padlock with a key he kept around his neck.

When the door opened it was like she was greeted by hell itself. Light was provided not only with sputtering torches but also with large braziers of wrought iron filled with burning coals, providing also providing heating this far below the surface.

She followed the Count in a light daze as they passed small holding cells with nothing but straw thrown in on the floor, only a single bucket providing a place for the residents to relieve themselves in. Some of them were empty but many held women of different ages in varying states of dress, often curled into protective balls.

She didn't see anyone that did not have the curves that came with a certain age so they all appeared to be at least young adults, but that was only the smallest of comforts. Founder above, this was far worse than any horror story she'd ever heard!

Louise's rage built as Mott gloated about how he enjoyed breaking them until they were his willing slaves. How he took great care to not use methods that would leave permanent and visible injury, as to not mar their beauty.

When they finally arrived at the cell which held Siesta, she froze up for a moment as she looked at the young woman sitting in the hay. She still wore her Academy uniform, although it looked slightly soiled in the front and not as pristine as she otherwise kept it. When she looked up at the sound of footsteps, Louise could see bruises marring the side of her face. She also saw that there was an iron collar locked around her neck, securely attached to an iron loop in the floor with a chain.

"_You Founder-damned monster! How could you do this to innocent girls!?"_

She didn't even realize that she'd said something out loud until the Count suddenly turned to look at her with a surprised expression that quickly turned hostile. "Excuse me? I didn't quite catch that!"

"I said you're a monster!" she spat at him, no longer able nor willing to keep up her previous pretense any longer. "How could you do this to _human beings!?_"

Count Mott drew himself up with a sneer as he looked distastefully at the girl who dared insult him, in his own home no less! "These are _commoners!_" he said with undisguised contempt as he dropped all pretense of civility.

"Look at how they play in the dirt with their primitive hand tools, squabbling over rocks and twigs!" he shouted at her, spittle flying through the air. "They are nothing without us Nobles, Vallière! Nay, less than nothing!"

She was taken aback by his vehement response, and he gave her no time to respond as he continued his rant.

"What price is a few women from insignificant families compared to the order I grant them?" he said, throwing his arms out and she noticed he was holding his wand now. "It's only fair that they pay us in the only thing they have in return for the gifts we bring them. Do you really think they could farm the food they need or build their homes without our help?"

He spat on the floor between them. "Of course not! They are dependent on us Nobles for this and you dare to tell me that I am a monster? Spare me the hypocrisy!"

She stared into his eyes, maddened by power and desire as she slowly inched her hand towards her own wand. "You're insane." she hissed. "When I tell the Princess what you've been up to, you'll hang!"

To her surprise he responded to that with a smirk, raising his wand at her. "And we can't have that, can we?"

She tried to dodge to the side, but she was not the target of whatever spell he was casting. They had passed several barrels of drinking water that stood in the middle of the corridor between the holding cells, and their contents burst out of their wooden containers with a single word from the Count. Louise barely had time to touch her wand, much less shout even the most rudimentary of spells as the water struck her like a viper, wrapping around her.

She yelped in surprise as the cold liquid enveloped her from the neck down and no amount of thrashing helped against its unyielding grip. Count Mott laughed gleefully at her struggles, and once again as they stopped as she found there was nothing she could do.

"The daughter of Duchess Karin de la Vallière herself." he gloated, enjoying her discomfort as he slowly started walking in a circle around her. "Trapped like a rat in my grasp! Didn't you know my Runic name is Mott of the Wave?" he mocked her.

"_That's right"_ she thought miserably. _"I had totally forgotten he was a triangle water mage!"_

"Now what shall we do with you?" he wondered out loud, but Louise still had some aces up her sleeves. "Do you really think my family will stand for this?" she shouted, making him pause in his circling.

"Hmm, you're correct." he said at length. "The Vallières is a quite powerful family, said to be quite close to the Royal Family."

"We are!" she confirmed. "So release me!"

He smirked at her back. "I think not, _miss_ Vallière!" he said, using the honorific as a taunt. "With you as my hostage, I have untold riches at my fingertips!"

"It will never work!"

"Au contraire, my dear girl!" he said with a smile, in front of her once more. "It will definitely work, although..." Louise gulped, not liking his tone. "...although it would work even better if I broke you to my will first." he finished.

"With you as my willing trophy wife, Tristain itself will be at my fingertips!" he said, laughing at his own genius. "The throne will be mine!"

Louise gaped at the sheer audacity of this plan, how far was he going to take his megalomania? But she quickly steeled herself, she had prepared for this.

"I was going to offer you one last chance at mercy" she spoke loudly, causing him to pause in his crazed laughter as she glared at him. "But I am now officially out of mercy to give!"

"Hmph!" Count Mott said with a smirk. "An empty threat from a powerless girl! What could you possibly do that could harm me now?"

"Legion!" Louise shouted, causing Mott to twirl around in alarm to meet a possible second person. Did she have another person with her? "Commence the operation!"

"**Acknowledged Commander, executing assault vectors."**

"Who are you talking to?" he asked in confusion as she seemingly spoke to thin air. "There's no one here, girl! Did you really think that someone would be able to hear you this far-"

He was cut off as a distant explosion went off far above, echoing like thunder down the staircase to reach them. "What in the devil?" Mott spat as it was followed by additional explosions and series of staccato cracks that he didn't recognize.

Louise smirked as he turned to her. "Did you call the army here!?" he shouted at her.

"Who knows?" she asked rhetorically as dust continued to rain down on them, the women in the cells stirring at the unfamiliar noises.

Gritting his teeth, Count Mott started walking towards the exit just as the sound of rapid footsteps echoed down from the staircase. Moments later the Captain of his guards showed up, white as a sheet. "Count Mott!" he shouted.

"What in the blazes is going on up there!?" Mott shouted at him. "I-invaders sir!" the captain responded hurriedly. "T-they came out of nowhere, my men can't stop them!"

"Tch! Useless commoners!" Count Mott bit his lip for a moment as he pondered his alternatives. He had never bothered to plan an escape route from his dungeon, confident in its secrecy as it was known only to him and the captain of the guard.

"What do you want us to do, my Lord?"

With no other option, Mott pointed at the exit. "Go, show me where the attackers are coming from! I will personally aid in repelling these idiots!" turning back to Louise, he made a motion with his wand causing her to yelp as the blob of water moved to follow him as he ran up the stairs.

* * *

The sound of staccato cracks was joined with shouts and screaming as Count Mott at the guard Captain followed by Louise finally made their way to the surface. The entire manor had basically become a battlefield since he last saw it, with broken glass from the windows covering the expensive carpet.

Ignoring how it crunched underfoot, the Captain quickly led them towards where most of the action was going on, passing several guards propped up against the walls or lying on the floor. Mott frowned as he looked at the men, seeing no blood anywhere and many of the men were moaning in pain.

"What's happening here?" Mott shouted, the Captain hurried to answer him. "Black soldiers suddenly rushed the mansion out of nowhere, my lord! We didn't even see them until they started firing their muskets at us!"

"Then how come there's no bullet holes?"

"We don't know, my Lord! But our steel cuirasses appear to be stopping them to some degree, there hasn't been any fatalities as of yet."

Now that he mentioned it, Mott could see that the steel chest plates that the men wore were all heavily dented as if a shower of blows had struck them. He almost laughed at this, they must be low-quality mercenaries that couldn't afford enough powder for their weapons to kill them!

"Their weapons must be underpowered!" he gloated as they neared where he could hear fighting going on. "What are their numbers, Captain?"

"We don't know sir, we've only seen maybe twenty or thirty men."

"Hmph." the Count turned to Louise who had been silent this entire time, still held in her water prison. "You hear that, girl? Your mercenaries are useless!"

To his irritation, the girl only smiled at him. "Then you should have no problem then, should you?" she said in an infuriatingly calm tone, not seeming at all worried.

He didn't bother responding as they had made it into the dining room where his men were making their stand. Bits of food and broken dishes lay everywhere as the guards had used the tables to make impromptu barricades which they were taking cover behind.

As the Captain rushed to join them, Count Mott stayed behind in the doorway where he could look at the attackers and as all other so far, felt a chill go through him at the sight of them.

He had thought that perhaps the constant chatter of what he now recognized as gunfire was due to the sheer amount of men that the Vallière girl had brought, having been surprised to hear they were so few. Now he understood why they were having such troubles as he saw a handful of black-armored men blazing a constant torrent of fire at the barricades.

He had absolutely no idea what kind of magic it was to give them such a rate of fire, but he knew one thing for sure.

Those were _not_ low-quality mercenaries.

* * *

Although she was cold and uncomfortable with the ability to move taken from her, Louise felt no fear as she was carried through the air in her watery prison. She had been getting constant updates from Legion about their advances through the mansion, and everything was going as Legion had predicted.

She had expressed her desire to him to not harm the guards of Count Mott's mansion, as they were simply men doing their duty just like any other soldiers. There was no need for the blood of innocents to stain the ground when all she wanted was the Count's and luckily, Legion had a solution.

She'd never heard of this 'vulcanized rubber' substance that he'd said that the regular bullets of the weapons carried by the Militants could be replaced with. He said they lacked the penetration needed to kill a man, and from the scores of groaning but alive men she saw it appeared that he had been right.

Just to be certain she had also instructed that they would not aim for their heads, which in retrospect had been a very good decision as she was pretty sure they might have died otherwise. Or lost all their teeth or their eyes or something else nasty!

"**Commander,"** Legion's voice rumbled in her mind, bringing her out of her thoughts. **"most of the building is now under our banner. By my estimates we have incapacitated 87.4% of all defenders. Only concussive grenades have been employed, as per your orders."**

"Excellent." she whispered, unheard by all but herself and Legion in the din of the fighting. "Any casualties?"

"**None on our side. Damage to opponents appear to be limited to heavy bruising and a few broken bones."**

"We can get healers here later as long as none of them die from their injuries." she murmured, a little worried after hearing about how much of a beating they were taking.

"**Acknowledged, Commander."**

She turned her eyes to the back of Count Mott, feeling her anger reignite as she thought about the horrors she'd seen below. She would not show him the same courtesy as she did his guards, and they needed to take care of the women.

"Do we have any unoccupied men that can go down and free the women?"

"**Yes Commander, I will divert a small force to that area immediately."**

"Good, and, uh..." she winced as she recalled the state many were in. "Be gentle with them, would you? Some may require clothes and first aid, possibly more."

"**It will be done Commander, none will be left behind."**

She smiled. "That's wonderful to hear, I'm sure there are carriages somewhere that we can use to transport them back to the Academy." she'd make sure that they were all taken care of, her honor as a Noble demanded she do nothing less.

* * *

Siesta's hands throbbed as she pulled at the iron chain that bound her to the floor, trying to get it loose. When she had first been brought to the manor, everything had seemed to be mostly fine and she'd been made to sit down for tea with the Count. However, it wasn't long until she started feeling funny and the cup fell from nerveless fingers splashing tea all over her.

Everything soon went dark and when she came to, she was locked down here in the dungeon. She had heard rumors about the good Count Mott among the staff, but she could never have imagined it would be this bad!

Finally giving up, Siesta slumped back into the hay which had once brought her comfort as a child, but now only filled her with fear. She'd had a small glimmer of hope when Lady Vallière had appeared, and for a moment she thought that she would be freed. Surely she would set things right!

But the nightmare continued as they had a brief shouting match before the Count trapped Lady Vallière in water, only to change yet again as explosions started rattling above. When they had all rushed out she thought she had her chance but the damn chain that bound her proved both well-forged and solid and would not budge.

She pulled her knees to her chest as she listened to the roar she recognized as the muskets belonging to Lady Vallière's familiars, and she still hoped.

"What's that noise?" one of the women in the cell next to her mumbled in a defeated voice. "That's not the usual call."

Siesta vaguely recognized her as someone who had once worked at the Academy, but could not place her face. "That's the sound of repeating muskets." Siesta responded.

"There is such a thing?" the woman asked before letting out a tortured wail that tugged at Siesta's heartstrings. "How long have I been down here!?" she cried.

"I don't know." Siesta said, before taking a deep breath of musty air to reinvigorate herself. "But we must not lose hope!"

"Hope?" someone else croaked from the other side of cells. "There's no hope to be found here. Hasn't been for a long time."

But Siesta would not be so easily swayed. "The girl who was just here was Lady Vallière!" she shouted. "She saved me once from another Noble at the Academy of Magic, and the noises you're hearing right now-" she paused to allow them all to hear the chattering of automatic gunfire above. "-are the weapons of her familiars!"

"You are from the Academy?" the girl next to her asked, a little bit more clearly as she'd now sat up and actually looked at Siesta for the first time. "That's definitely the maid uniform..." she noted.

"Yes!" Siesta nodded. "I'm telling you, we will all be free soon!"

A murmur of voices rose at this, as none of them could deny that there had indeed been another Noble down with the Count, or Master as they were made to call him. The repeated staccato of guns was also impossible to ignore, as were the occasional explosion.

They were all going to be free soon!

However, all noise stopped as they heard a multitude of quick steps coming down the stairs, was the Count's guards coming to dispose of them?

But instead of guards in red uniforms and polished steel cuirasses with swords in their hands, a troop of identical men in night-black armor with red visors obscuring their faces came down. Nobody had any idea what to make of them until Siesta threw herself up and against the bars, waving her hand through them to get their attention.

"Thunder Warriors!" she cried. "Over here! We're over here!"

The large men quickly came over, and Siesta had never been so happy to see their grim shapes before! One of them came up to the bars, examined them for a moment and then slung its musket over his back by the carry strap.

"**Stand clear!"** it ordered her in that deep, metallic voice and she responded immediately by throwing herself backwards against the wall.

Siesta expected them to maybe shoot the lock or blow it up somehow, but instead she saw it reach out to grasp the bars in armored hands. Metal shrieked and tore under the hands of the Thunder Warriors as they pulled the heavy iron doors off by their hinges as easily as she'd tear a piece of paper!

She watched in awe as it moved it like it weighed nothing and just threw it aside before stepping inside the cell. It took a single pull of its hand to tear the iron ring from its mooring in the floor, and then she was free!

As she stumbled out of the accursed cell, she saw similar things happening all around her. Some of the women cried in both fear at the impossibly strength of these warriors and in joy as they were freed.

Several were in such bad states they needed to be carried out, but there were enough Thunder Warriors to carry them all and within moments they were moving towards the exit.

* * *

Count Mott was sweating bullets as he once more threw himself down below a table to avoid the actual bullets that had almost hit him. Splinters flew as they struck wood and he could hear the cries of the wounded all around him.

How could this possibly have happened!?

At first he had just shot pressured sprays and blobs of water at them, which normally was enough to knock a man over but were useless against these warriors. They had simply taken it without as much as a wince or a stumble, he might as well have had threw glasses of water at them for all it did!

Ice worked marginally better, as several of the black soldiers now had several ice arrows sticking out of them, but even that didn't slow them down. Mott had even taken a few hits for his troubles as the surprise had caused him to freeze for a few moments, which had been more than enough time for them to shoot him.

He gingerly touched the spots on his chest where they had struck with his fingertips, and hissed in agony as he touched what was undeniably a horrific bruise. As he used the tiny bit of healing magic he knew to lessen the pain, he cursed himself for not learning more when he had the chance.

How was he to know that he would actually need it one day!?

Breathing a sigh of relief as he managed to preform the most rudimentary of first aid, Count Mott's gaze went up to the despicable girl who caused all of this. The look on her face was one of the kind of serenity one might see on someone taking a walk on a beautiful summer day, as opposed to a battlefield with bullets flying everywhere!

He felt his blood boil at the gall of this girl! Not only did she come into his home, abuse his hospitality AND trick him into thinking she was a kindred spirit, she also turned his beautiful manor into a battlefield!

It did however present him with an opportunity he didn't previously think of, and he enjoyed the surprised look on her face as he called the blob of water that held her to him. He stood up once he had positioned it in front of him, noting with a certain amount of glee that the constant barrage had stopped.

"Much better!" Count Mott said triumphantly as he looked down the room towards the black-armored men who were pointing their muskets in his direction, but not firing! He counted eight of them, and he had to admit they were quite terrifying, but had obviously not counted on him being this clever!

"Now put your weapons down, or the girl gets it!" he shouted at them.

The few of his men that had not yet taken enough damage to go down cautiously peeked up over their barricades, but immediately hunkered back down when the response came.

"**Surrender the girl."** one of them intoned in a bizarrely deep, reverberating voice that was unlike any Mott had ever heard before.

"You should do as they say, Count." the girl he held hostage said with a confidence that irritated him. How dare she? "Silence!" he shouted at her.

"**Release the girl."** it said again, and suddenly Mott heard footsteps as additional black-armored soldiers appeared from the same door he came through! **"You are surrounded. You have 15 seconds to comply."**

Now the Count was sweating, he quickly looked around to see the remaining guards had dropped their weapons and were cowering like children. "You cowards!" he spat at them. "Have you no pride!?"

"M-my Lord!" he heard and looked down at the Captain who was still at his side, now nursing a broken arm. "Perhaps it is best if we obey?" he said hopefully.

Everything was lost. The realization hit Count Mott like thunder from a clear sky as the black-armored soldiers closed in. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen!

"Nobody move!" he shouted as he pressed the tip of his wand against the girl's neck. "I'll take her head off! I'll-"

He was cut off as he suddenly felt something welling up in his throat and he coughed hard, seeing blood flow from his mouth. Looking down, he saw the tip of a sword sticking out of his chest.

"Y-you..." he gasped at the guard Captain who had run him through, his face terrified but resolute. "You bastard..." he coughed before his legs folded beneath him, sending him to the floor.

His concentration broken by the mortal wound he had sustained from this act of treachery, the water holding Louise lost the power that was holding it up and she crashed to the floor with a sudden cry of surprise. She was soon helped to her feet by her golems and shivered as the air touched her soaked clothes.

"**Are you unharmed, Master?"** Legion asked and she nodded numbly as one of her Militia came over with a blanket and wrapped it around her. "J-just really cold."

She looked down when she heard a wet cough and saw the Count lying in a pool of his own blood, the Captain sitting right where he had fallen, weeping at the horrible deed he had done.

"Y-you'll all... burn.. for this..." the Count mumbled as his life left him, but Louise shook her head.

"No Mott, you brought this on yourself."

"**_Sic semper tyrannis."_** the Militia chorused, making her blink at the unfamiliar words until Legion translated it to her.

"**It is Latin, Master. An ancient tongue of Earth, it means 'Thus ends all tyrants'."**

Louise nodded faintly, seeing why he had said that. "Thus ends all tyrants." she repeated out loud as she watched the light fade in Mott's eyes.

* * *

About an hour later, Louise found herself feeling reasonably better as she sat in one of the undamaged rooms of the mansion. A cup of hot tea sat in her hands, prepared by one of her golems, as she waited for the healers and officials to finish.

She had Legion call them as soon as it was over from the nearest town, and they had been combing through the mansion since they got there. They had suspected her of murder at first until the guard Captain came forward and admitted that the Count's death was on his hands, after which they simply told her to go and wait for them to finish.

All 32 of her Militia had then gathered to guard her, most of them in the room with her with the remaining eight standing just outside. And although things had gone as planned aside from the Count's sudden death by his own man, the victory still felt hollow somehow.

"You did well, Legion." she mused out loud as she stared down into her tea.

She wasn't sure where they'd found tea, but she was starting to get used to the idea that Legion knew how to do anything. The whole 'total sum of human knowledge' thing seemed to be true, after all.

"**Thank you, Master."**

"I just wished that Count Mott didn't have to die." she said, surprised how sad she felt over the fact that he died. "I only wanted to beat him and then send him to prison."

"**Casualties is an inevitability of war, Master."**

"This isn't a war, Legion." she reminded him tiredly.

"**It is not, yet people die every day all the same. You could not have foreseen this event."**

"No, I guess not." she snorted, feeling a little silly about it at the same time. "At least he won't hurt anyone, ever again."

"**The dead rarely do, Master."**

Louise took another sip of her tea as the door opened, she didn't bother checking who as she knew that Legion wouldn't let anybody suspicious inside. Still, she almost choked on it when the person in question shouted her name.

"Lady Vallière!"

Looking up, she beheld the beaming visage of Siesta standing over her. Although she was still wearing the soiled maid's uniform, the collar and chain had been removed and she looked a lot better after she'd had a chance to freshen up a bit.

"Siesta." Louise greeted her with a tired smile, only to have the maid step forward and take the teacup from her hands and carefully set it to the side. "Eh?" she blinked in confusion.

She got her answer as she saw Siesta's eyes suddenly teared up and fell to her knees in front of her, throwing her arms around the younger girl in a tight hug, crying like a baby into her shoulder. "I'm so happy you came!" she sobbed, Louise sitting frozen for a few moments in pure surprise at the sudden embrace.

"H-hey, calm down!" Louise cried as she tried unsuccessfully to calm the borderline hysterical maid down. "You're safe now!"

"I know!" Siesta cried into her shoulder and Louise was a bit surprised to feel how badly she was shaking. "I was so afraid I'd never get out of here! That I'd never see my family again! That I'd die here!"

The Noble sighed softly as she started rubbing little circles over the maid's back as she cried, not being able to blame her. She found she really couldn't blame her as she'd have done the same thing in her shoes, probably.

After a few minutes, Siesta's sobs died down enough for her to slowly untangled herself from Louise. "Oh no, I made a mess." she said between sniffles. Louise looked down at her shoulder and found that there was a large, wet spot from her tears. Weirdly enough, she wasn't the least irritated over this.

"Ah, it's alright." Louise smiled faintly in good humor. "You'll get it clean for me later, right?"

"Yes!" Siesta said with a bright smile, before suddenly looking very contemplative about something. "You know, usually the hero gets a big kiss after saving a maiden."

Louise's eyes widened as the maid's eyes met her with a smile that suddenly frightened her. "H-hey, wait! That's not necessary!" she almost started panicking when Siesta's face got closer, and closer.

"I don't need a kiss! Don't!" and since the maid's hands were still on her shoulders, Louise found she couldn't escape either!

* * *

Some of the healers looked up as they heard a loud cry of "Noooooooo!" only for it to be suddenly silenced.

They briefly looked at each other, shrugged as it didn't sound like someone was in danger before going back to healing the bruises of the groaning guards on the floor.

"Nobles." one of them remarked, followed by agreeing mutters from everyone else in the room..

* * *

And there you have it, folks! Chapter 5.

Bet none of you expected Mott to go down like that, did you?

Some of you might be saying that Louise wouldn't go to such lengths for a lowly commoner, but to me it makes sense. Yes they had a rivalry and such going in canon, but without a person for them to be rivals over things are different. Louise hasn't lived a very easy life despite - or perhaps due to - being a noble, so if I was in her shoes I wouldn't be extremely picky over my friends. I will however point out that she didn't immediately accept Siesta as her friend, and I've been making an effort not to make it go too fast.

Will it lead to an actual relationship? Maybe. One kiss does not a relationship make and it's far too early for Louise to be in a relationship with _anyone,_ but I do intend for there to be one eventually. This isn't a shipping fic mind you, but it will have romance all the same.

Also, Derflinger acquired! A lot of the reviewers of the last chapter pointed out that he's quite too large for Louise and I agree completely with this, as I wrote in this one, but I've taken that into account. The reason he hasn't talked yet like he normally does also has a reason to it that will be revealed later, like so much else. The story about the _Grosse Messer_ is a real one and it happened pretty much as I described, although I probably missed a few things since I'm no historian, but the weapon does exist.

All you medieval weapon nuts out there (you know who you are!) will probably find some issues with how I wrote the weapon shop, but hopefully I did a good job. I know a decent amount myself about European weapons and I did my research about everything I tried describing. If anyone feels the need to give me further tips and/or information, please do!

Can anyone guess what kind of weapon it is that Osmond has locked up that he calls the Staff of Destruction? I'll give virtual cookies to whomever gets it right! I'll tell you right away though that it's _not_ a M72 LAW, but something from the Tiberian Earth universe!

As always, please leave a review if you liked it!


	6. Aftermath Part I

Well, I got a lot of mixed responses on the last chapter with quite a few compliments but a lot of people commented on how long-winded I wrote the background for Tristania. It was a little excessive, I admit, and I will be avoiding doing a repeat of that, although I'll still be making descriptions and such. Just not as long as that one. I did that mostly because I got really irritated that I couldn't find any good information so I just made shit up and got a little carried away.

I now have access to an excellent source of information supplied to me by **balot55** which will aid me greatly, and make everything more accurate!

Similarly some people were happy with Louise getting the hero's kiss instead of Saito, but some people weren't quite as happy. I said it in the end of the last chapter, but I'll repeat it for those who missed it: _one kiss does not a relationship make!_

The poor girl was still under the effects of whatever drug Mott used to knock her out, and Louise had just rescued her and many others from what was essentially a life of servitude as sex slaves. I felt that this more than warranted some form of affectionate response, and a kiss fit nicely into this niche. That said, I do not have any plans at the moment for any relationships beyond what already existed in canon although that may be subject to change. I don't actually have a problem with same-sex relationships and I am willing to write this, but only if I'm getting a _very clear_ approval from a majority of reviewers!

Regardless of how it turns out, there will still be awkward and occasionally suggestive moments, but this is more because of the fact that most of the cast are female than any actual desire. Also please keep in mind that most are in in their late- to mid-teens and hormones are present, which rarely makes people act with things like foresight and logic in mind.

What else? Oh yeah.

It seems I asked my question about the Staff of Destruction a _bit_ too early, and it won't even feature in this chapter. I seem to be doing that a lot lately; thinking that "I'll put a certain scene in this chapter" and then I blink and before I know it, I'm up to 30 pages without it happening! Oh well, I'll just put the winner up in the chapter when it all goes down!

Now, on with the story.

* * *

Chapter 6

Aftermath Part I

* * *

The sun had just peeked over the horizon and was making its way through the windows of the Headmaster's office where once again, two men sat quietly.

Neither Osmond nor Colbert had been to bed after they had been told about the sudden disappearance of Louise de la Vallière, and had thus still been awake when she returned. They were more surprised by the significantly larger force of Black Golems that had followed in her wake, along with six carriages carrying almost two dozen young women. They were all taken directly to the Infirmary and were still being looked over by the hastily awoken nurses, as many were in quite the bad state from being at the late Count's mercy for so long.

A state official had brought them the official report of their findings, as it had been one of the Academy's students that had caused the whole situation. On top of that, the Academy had also been the closest place where the women could receive care that was trusted by the Crown. This report was now lying on the desk in-between where the two men were sitting, having gone over it together.

"What a headache this turned out to be." Jean Colbert groaned as he held his eyeglasses in his left hand while rubbing at his tired eyes with his right. "We should count our lucky stars that Count Mott had so many skeletons in his closet that it overshadowed miss Vallière's actions."

"Luck had nothing to do with it, Professor." Osmond said, sounding just as tired as he looked. "The Count had been under watch for a long time for some very questionable actions." he said, having actually exchanged letters with Cardinal Mazarin about this very thing.

"Miss Vallière just happened to be at the right time at the right place to set this particular powder keg off. In fact, I do almost wish that she had done so sooner."

"Yes," Colbert agreed as he once more picked up the papers holding the report, disgust clear in his voice as he read over what it said. Waste of air didn't even do him justice, it had been well over a decade since he'd wanted to burn a man to cinders as much as he did right now.

Too bad he was already dead, which brought him to another point.

"Is anyone going to press any charges for his death?" he asked, to which the Headmaster immediately shook his head.

"The Count died by the hand of one of his own men, evident by the sword still sticking out of him when they got there. And several eye-witnesses including miss Vallière herself said it was the Captain of the guard, a Mr. Guarinot, who ran him through."

"And it says right here that he admitted he did it before they even had a chance to ask." Colbert remarked before raising an eyebrow. "Actually... he was the only casualty."

Osmond nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Yes, once again miss Vallière showed considerable restraint as she had made her golems to use a curious form of soft ammunition against the guards themselves."

Next to the report sat a small cloth bag which was opened to reveal a collection of black shapes that looked just like the bullets that Colbert had recovered after the duel. The man in question picked one up and squeezed it between his fingers, feeling it flex slightly unlike any material he'd ever encountered before.

"Not only that," Colbert continued in agreement with the Headmaster. "but she'd also instructed them only to aim for the body, which probably lowered the chances further. Daresay a lot of them will be quite sore for a few weeks, though."

"I believe her words were, 'I asked them to use something that wouldn't kill them, not something that wouldn't hurt them!'." Old Osmond said with a slight bit of humor before getting serious once more.

"What about the girls she rescued from the manor, Mr. Colbert?"

Colbert frowned a bit as he'd only caught glimpses as the nurses had moved them into the Infirmary, recognizing signs of extreme abuse when he saw them.

"Many of them were in quite a bad state when they got here." he replied with a stony face. "The nurses had to levitate them as they refused to let anyone touch them at first, some of them screaming at the very sight of a man."

Osmond nodded somberly. "Clear signs of sexual abuse, we need to see that they can get back to their families if possible."

"Already arranged for, Headmaster." Colbert said, having taken that into his own hands as soon as he could which got him a respectful nod from the older man. "I sent out word to the families of those that we could recognize, some were women we'd never seen before though."

"Hmm. We'll just keep them here for now." Osmond said while stroking his beard. "What about the other women?"

"They're getting checked over right now, Headmaster. The maid, Siesta, that miss Vallière went to find was mostly fine and should be in bed by now." Colbert replied, a lighter tone in his voice as he too was happy she was fine. "She asked for a hot meal and a long bath first, though."

"Can't blame her." The Headmaster mused out loud. "Did she say anything else?"

Colbert nodded as he hid a yawn with his hand. "She said she'd be happy to work for the Academy once more if she could, although she requested that she get a few days off to recuperate."

"Granted." Osmond agreed immediately. "In fact, give her the rest of the week off! I'll arrange the paperwork to say that she got it in paid leave."

The Professor across from him nodded in confirmation. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it, Headmaster."

"The poor girl deserves it. Actually I believe I'll extend the same for miss Vallière as well, I believe she should get some reward wouldn't you agree?" the elderly Headmaster said before covering a yawn of his own.

"Yes, sir."

"Now, let's both go get some rest."

Colbert nodded and slowly stood up, feeling very tired all of a sudden and his legs were stiff from sitting still for so long. "I just hope this isn't going to become a habit whenever miss Vallière is involved." he groaned.

* * *

It was well after noon before Siesta managed to get out of bed, feeling much better after she had some sleep. She'd had a few nightmares from the rather intense ordeal the day before, but she'd been exhausted enough that she was out like a light the moment her head hit the pillow.

But thanks to the fact that she'd spent only a single day at the Count's mansion, she didn't really have a whole lot of trouble bouncing back from the ordeal.

As no one came to wake her up, she assumed that her request for some off-time had indeed been accepted. Humming to herself, she'd taken her time putting on a nice, fresh uniform and went off towards the kitchens.

The halls were empty this time of day as all the students were in classes, and Siesta thought that after getting herself something to eat she'd get something for Lady Vallière as well. Giving her breakfast in bed was absolutely nothing compared to the things the young Noble had already done for her!

However, she had forgotten about one thing; this was a school.

And if there was one thing that could outpace even the speed of light, it was the spread of rumors in a school.

The moment she stepped foot into the kitchens, hands seemed to descend upon her from nowhere and in no time flat, she found herself sitting down with what appeared to be the entire serving staff in front of her! She flailed helplessly as she was positively _bombarded_ with questions of how she was doing, how did she escape, was the rumors true and many others.

Luckily, Marteau came to her rescue as he started banging a ladle against an iron pot. "Settle down, people!" he shouted at them. "I know we're all happy to see Siesta's back, but this isn't a competition of who gets to her first!"

"Aww!"

"But Head Chef!"

"No buts!" Marteau said with firm resolution in his voice, his large hands, toughened by years of hard work and heat, resting on his hips as he stared them all down.

Siesta couldn't help but giggle at the sight of so many young men and women cowering before the normally gentle man, causing them all to turn to look at her. "I-it's okay!" she got out between giggles, ending up smiling brightly at them all and getting plenty of smiles in return.

"You sure, Siesta?" the Head Chef said with a more gentle voice, getting a nod in return from the maid.

"It's okay, Head Chef." she said, basking in the love of the people around her who were for all intents and purposes, her second family. "I was just overwhelmed by everyone asking their questions all at once!"

A general mumble of "Sorry, Siesta!" came from the crowd, but she waved it away with another smile. "I'm sure you all have a lot of questions, just ask them one at a time."

Siesta spent almost 30 minutes answering questions that were now coming at a more manageable pace. Yes she was alright, yes the Count was a pervert of the highest caliber, no she didn't get beaten very hard, no the Count never managed to do anything to her beyond locking her up.

Then, finally, came the question she had been waiting for. The one she had prepared herself to answer the moment she realized she was escaping, which she had decided to answer in its entirety.

"What exactly happened over there last night, Siesta?"

The question came from Marteau of all people, who until now had been satisfied to just stand and watch as all other questions were asked and answered. He hadn't told anyone else that la Vallière had come to him just after dinner and asked for Siesta, and was quite curious as to what the little Noble had done after running off like she had.

All heads turned around in surprise to look at the Head Chef, who met their gazes head on with his arms folded, and then they turned back to look at Siesta.

At some point, someone had set down a cup of tea for her and she raised to her lips and took a long sip of the fragrant, amber liquid within, and spent another few seconds looking down into it before responding.

"After I got to the Count's manor, everything seemed to be in order until he asked me to have tea with him. He must have put some manner of drug in the tea as I soon found the cup slipping from my fingers, and then everything just went black."

Siesta touched her hand to the side of her face where a slight bruise was still faintly visible, most of it gone thanks to the water magic of the healers. "I guess I must have hit something as I collapsed, as I woke up with a bruise on my cheek."

The entire kitchen was silent as they listened to her retelling of the events, all eyes were on her and not on the doorway as Louise peeked her head in. Marteau did, and he put a finger to his lips as his eyes met that of the Noble, who nodded in understanding and ducked back out.

Unaware of what was going on, Siesta continued. "When I came to, I was lying on a pile of straw in a small cell that was no wider than that I could reach out and touch the sides in both directions. "Around my neck" she rubbed her hand over her throat "the Count had put a thick iron collar and chained me to a ring attached to the floor."

"That's horrible!" one of the maids, Alaina, gasped. "Why would he do that?"

Siesta shrugged helplessly. "I don't know, maybe he was worried that I'd somehow break the bars to the cell?"

Marteau frowned, a little older and more knowledgeable about the world than most working underneath him. "You do that to keep prisoners from attacking you and/or trying to escape when you open the door to their cell." When all eyes turned on him once more, he simply shrugged. "The big prison in the capital city, La Santé, sometimes does that to their most dangerous criminals. I worked there for a while preparing the food for the guards."

Mutters of horrified disgust came from the collected crowd of people, Siesta nodded her head. "Yes, that would make sense. Mott was a sick, sick man." she said, spitting his name and foregoing the usual title-honorific.

"Then what happened?" one of the kitchen boys, Benjamin, asked from where he was sitting backwards on a chair. "Were you the only one there?"

Siesta shook her head. "There were a twenty-something number of other women in the cells next to and across the corridor from my own. Some of them I recognize from having worked here, others I didn't." she shuddered slightly. "A few of the girls looked like they'd been down there for years, their skin pale and sickly."

Alaina shook her head. "I can't believe you had to go through that, I'm so sorry."

"It was a very bad situation to be in" Siesta said, folding her hands in her lap. "I started crying when I thought I'd never get out of there again and never see you guys or my family." she took a deep breath to keep herself from crying as she recalled the despair she had felt at that time, instead focusing on the fact that she was free now. Allowing her to smile as she recalled the next part. "Just as I was trying to come to terms with my new life, I heard the door at the end of the hall creak open and footsteps on the flagstones."

"I thought to myself that the Count had come to start doing horrible things to me. Sure enough, when I looked up from where I was sitting I did indeed see him standing there. But he was not alone, there with him stood none other than Lady Vallière herself!"

"Our Shield?" Marteau asked, a grin on his face even though he knew that it was coming.

"Yes!" Siesta exclaimed, feeling her spirits lift once more just like they had at that time. "You should have seen her, she was livid in a way I'd never seen her or anyone else in this Academy before!"

Marteau grinned even wider, nodding in pride as Their Shield once more proved to him that he had been right when he started calling her that.

"She must have fooled him into thinking that she wanted to buy me as a slave or something, as he looked surprised when she started screaming at him." the whole room was watching excitedly as the maid really got into her story telling, her eyes shining as she recalled Louise's words. "She told him he was a founder-damned monster, and demanded to know how he could do this to another human being!"

"Wow!" another maid standing off to her side exclaimed, her name was Christine, Siesta recalled. "What did the Count respond to that?"

"He responded in kind, saying that we were 'just commoners' and that he was just taking his just payments for imposing 'order' on us." Siesta said with disgust in her voice, a sentiment shared by everyone around her. "He even went as far as to compare us to livestock, for Brimir's sake!"

She shook her head violently to dispel his voice in her mind before continuing once more. "Lady Vallière called him mad and promised to call down the Crown on him, which was when I noticed he had his wand in his hand."

The whole crowd winced as one, that was _never_ good!

"Before I could even open my mouth to warn her, these barrels that had been standing in the middle of the corridor between the cells exploded as a torrent of water shot out of them. I could only watch helplessly as Lady Vallière was trapped in a magical water-prison of some kind, and Mott gloated that he'd caught the daughter of Duchess Vallière." Siesta's eyes narrowed. "Even more, he said he was going to break her like he'd done to other women, and use her to usurp the Crown!"

A cry of "EEEEEEEHHHHHHHHH!?" echoed through the kitchen, and the maid nodded her confirmation. "That's what he said!"

"But didn't miss Vallière save you?" Benjamin asked confusedly, not understanding how anyone could have gotten out of something like that. "Trapped without magic that far underground, how in Brimir's name did you manage?"

Siesta nodded. "Mott said the same thing, taunting her that no one would ever find her there. But can you guess what Lady Vallière did?"

Everyone shook their heads no.

"She just stared him right in the eye," she said, pointing her middle and index fingers straight towards her own eyes. "Told him that she was going to allow him to surrender himself, but that she now had no more mercy left to give! Mott wasn't very impressed though, and asked her what a powerless girl like her could possibly do to him at that point."

"Then what happened" Marteau asked, also quite drawn into her story.

"Lady Vallière did something odd." Siesta said as she narrowed her brows in a frown. "She raised her head and just shouted straight out in the air something about a legion commencing the operation."

"Legion?" Alaina and Christine asked at the same time, shooting each other an annoyed glance for a brief moment before turning back to Siesta.

"She had an entire army sitting in the shadows!?" Benjamin asked exitedly, only to have Siesta shake her head.

"It was so strange, no one jumped out after she said that and Mott even asked if she'd lost her mind, talking to things that weren't there." she explained to them. "But then it happened."

They all leaned in as Siesta took a deep breath in preparation. "There was this loud, thundering explosion from above causing dust and sand to leak from the ceiling. The Count started cursing in fear, demanding to know how she had managed to call the army there when she didn't even know what was going to happen!"

Benjamin was practically vibrating in his seat from excitement. "Oh wow! I didn't know miss Vallière was this amazing! She must have been some kind of tactical genius to pull that off!"

Siesta blinked at this, suddenly giggling to everyone's surprise as a mental image came to mind. She imagined Lady Vallière as a grown woman in all her glory, standing with her hands resting on a blade with a large coat over her shoulders as it blew in the wind. A large, smoking cigar clamped in her mouth as she grinned at a perfectly executed, flanking assault against a numerously superior enemy.

"_Tactical genius, hurr!"_

"No, no!" she giggled. "Nothing like that! Or, well..." Siesta grew quiet for a moment as she did ponder just how Lady Vallière had pulled that off. "I don't know." she admitted. "Anyway!"

"Lady Vallière just smirked at the Count and went, 'Who knows?' and just when he was about to ask her more questions, a man later identified as the Captain of the guards at the mansion ran in."

"The man was white as a sheet! Telling the Count that they'd suddenly gotten attacked by an unknown force and that they couldn't seem to stop them." Siesta recalled, causing smiles and smirks to break out among the audience. "Mott cursed and told him to lead the way, saying that he'd help fight them off in person and they ran towards the exit, Lady Vallière floating after them in tow within her water prison."

"Wow." Alaina breathed. "Weren't you scared, Siesta?"

"Out of my mind." the maid admitted, before setting her face in a resolute smile. "But I never once doubted that Lady Vallière would set things right!" she said with conviction. "Even when the other women down there tried telling me we'd never be free, my resolve never wavered!"

Marteau spoke up again, a smile on his grizzled features. "You know, Our Shield came and asked me about you earlier last night, and the look she had in her eyes when I had to tell her you were no longer with us here at the Academy..."

"Lady Vallière did?" Siesta asked, a small smile on her lips.

"Yes." he nodded to her in confirmation. "She never said why since the moment I told her that, it was like a fire had lit in her eyes. She just turned on her heel and started sprinting towards the stables like a woman possessed! It sure was a sight to see!" he grinned.

Siesta smiled wider, feeling a little warm inside at the thought of her Savior getting so worked up for her sake. "I'd been wondering how she knew I was there."

"Come on, what happened next?" Christine asked, her impatience finally getting to her. "How did you finally escape?"

Siesta blinked and shook her head, she'd totally forgotten about her story! "Sorry!" she apologized and took another deep breath.

"I managed to convince them all that we were all going to be rescued, as we were also hearing the sound of rapid musket fire along with the explosions. Therefore I knew that Lady Vallière's Thunder Warriors were there as well, and I told them as such."

"Of course! Her Thunder Warriors!" Benjamin almost shouted, only to be silenced by several of the others in the crowd, hissing at him to be quiet.

"Yes, and no more than a minute after that, we heard footsteps once more as a group of people were coming down the stairs." Siesta blew out a sigh and then smiled. "I'd never been so happy to see those black golems in my life! I shouted and waved for them to come over, and they quickly did."

"And they shot the locks off?" someone asked, but she didn't bother trying to recognize them anymore.

Siesta shook her head. "I thought they were going to, but instead the one in front of my cell put his musket away and spoke: '_Stand clear!_'." she explained, doing her best to imitate the deep, unearthly voices that came from Louise's golems. "Once I had, it just reached out and grabbed the bars of the door, and tore it off its hinges as easily as you would a wet piece of paper!"

She mimicked the motion of grabbing a pair of bars, pulled towars her and then make a throwing motion to the left.

"It then reached down and grabbed the chain in one hand, and just tore it right out from where it had been attached to the floor!"

"Whoa." Alaina and Christine breathed together once more, captivated by the story of her heroic rescue.

"It was amazing to see!" Siesta gushed happily. "I got out of the cell as fast as I could, and I could see the same thing being done for the other women, as well. Afterwards, we were all led back up and outside, where we waited until the state officials arrived." she said, taking another sip of tea now that she was finally finished with her retelling.

Everyone sat in silence for a few moments, thinking of the amazing story they'd just been told. All until Marteau suddenly started laughing loudly in the way he often did.

"BWAHAHAHA! I knew it all along!" as the Head Chief started doing a silly dance between the rows of sinks, stoves and cutting boards, waxing lyric about "Our Shield and Defender!" the others tuned him out and turned back to Siesta.

"Hey, hey. So what happened to Count Mott?" Benjamin asked, his chin leaning on the arms he'd crossed over the back of the chair.

Siesta briefly hummed thoughtfully, trying to remember what had been said through the haze that was the rest of the night. "I think he died, actually. Stabbed in the back by the guard Captain when he refused to surrender even though the Thunder Warriors had him surrounded."

"Huh." the boy blinked. "So miss Vallière didn't kill him?"

The maid shook her head. "No. I thought it was a little odd too when I heard it, too."

"Well, as long as it got done." he mumbled. "What about the mansion guards?"

"Oh!" Siesta exclaimed slightly. "Apparently Lady Vallière had her Thunder Warriors load their repeating muskets with something so they wouldn't kill them when they shot them. I have no idea what it was, but it was very effective. There was guards lying everywhere with their steel chest plates dented as if a giant had just swept them away with a single blow of its club!"

"_Defender of the small ones, greatest among heroes!"_ Marteau sang in the background.

"Wonder why she didn't use that against Gramont that first time?" Christine wondered, to which Alaina immediately responded with: "Maybe she wanted to spare him from your cooking?"

"Hey! My there's nothing wrong with my cooking!"

"Yeah, if you want to kill yourself!"

As the two girls bickered and the Head Chef continued with his not-so impressive singing, Benjamin just face-palmed. "Not again, you guys." he groaned.

Siesta just giggled at the familiar scene, happy to be among them again and happy no one had asked if anything else happened. She'd been a little loopy at the end and she'd like to think it was because of her being drugged that she did what she had at the end. She blushed faintly as she recalled leaning forward, and...

Gaining some surprised looks from the mostly dispersed crowd as she slapped her cheeks, she refused to even think the word! However, as if summoned by the slaps, she recalled something else in relation to Louise.

"Ah! I was going to bring breakfast to Lady Vallière!"

* * *

Louise had actually woken up slightly before Siesta did, also having slept like the dead due to pure exhaustion from the emotional roller-coaster she'd been through the long day before. She however had stayed in bed for a while before finally getting up and getting herself ready for today. Unaware of what the maid had planned, she had gone to fetch something from the kitchens when she almost walked right into the detailed re-telling of the event she'd started calling the 'Flight of the Maid'.

She'd been thankful that the Head Chef hadn't mentioned to anyone that he'd seen her, and she spent a while listening to the story. She hadn't known Siesta had such faith in her, and she couldn't help but smile slightly as she let her head rest against the stone wall behind her.

She had won the battle, she had achieved her goal to protect the innocent.

_She had not failed._

That more than anything else made her feel giddy inside and she decided that she could probably bother the cooks later. Humming softly to herself, she ignored the story (she knew it already, anyway!) being told and walked out of the Alvíss Dining Hall with a slight skip in her step.

Maybe she'd go see if she could find Professor Colbert, she thought to herself. It hadn't been much of an issue before, but with her number of Militants grown from four to thirty-two she needed to find a new source of resources.

"How much Tiberium do we have left?" she asked the empty hallway, not too worried about being overheard.

"**2400 units, Master."**

"Hmm?" Louise raised an eyebrow as she walked. "Didn't you say we had 2600 left?"

"**Yes Master. 200 units was needed to manufacture the rubber bullets you requested in sufficient quantities."**

Oh yeah! "I see." she said at length. "Will 400 be enough to seed the ground as you told me before?"

"**Normally, 500 units is needed to perform the action of seeding Tiberium. This is due to the fact that it is launched by means of ballistic missile to avoid unnecessary exposure, which has a cost in itself."**

"Right." Louise nodded, not having forgotten about the dangers of Tiberium. "But since we're using purely mechanical troops, that shouldn't be as much of an issue."

"**You are correct, Master. 400 units worth of Liquid Tiberium will more than sufficient to begin the formation of a patch, while still having enough to begin the construction of a Refinery."**

"The cost of one of those was 2000 units, right?" she recalled him telling her once before, didn't he?

"**Correct. Do you wish me to begin construction, Master?"**

She nodded as she walked out into the southern courtyard where Colbert spent most of his time, having constructed a laboratory there for his experiments. This had been demanded of him from several members of the staff and quite a few students as some of said experiments had been quite loud. "Do so while I talk to Professor Colbert about setting up some kind of confinement for the Tiberium."

"**Acknowledged, building in progress."**

Satisfied that it would take a while for him to construct the buildings, however he did that, she raised her hand and knocked on the door to Colbert's laboratory.

"_Coming!"_ she heard him call faintly from inside, the door opening a few moments later. He looked a little tired, but seemed pleased to see her. "Miss Vallière!"

"Good afternoon, Professor." she greeted him. "Do you have a moment?"

"Yes, of course! Come in!" he said, stepping back to allow her to enter. "We were just talking about you."

"We?" she asked in confusion, but it soon turned into surprise when she laid eyes on the young man sitting inside.

"Guiche?"

"La Vallière!?"

* * *

A few minutes later once they'd both had a moment to calm down, the two of them along with Colbert were sitting around the table he had in there. His laboratory was a rather cramped place, filled with all sorts of inventions, tools and nick-knacks on benches, tables, chairs and even lying on the floor near the walls. It smelled slightly of oil and wood chips with a faint undertone of smoke, although she couldn't tell if it was from the explosions or if he'd just accidentally burnt some toast.

As it turned out, Guiche had been there to ask him on how to best approach her after the duel, although it had turned into a discussion about her golems when she suddenly knocked on the door.

Louise looked at the boy sitting across from her with some suspicion, as if she didn't trust him nor the teacup he was holding, identical to the one sitting in front of her.

"What do you mean you're _not_ angry at me?" she asked him in confusion.

"Exactly what it sounds like. When you beat me in that duel, you got me thinking about things I hadn't considered before." he explained, sounding more honest and direct than she'd ever heard him.

This really wasn't what she'd expected, which had been more along the lines of him desiring bitter revenge against her. Although she found she really preferred this outcome, mostly since that meant she didn't have to worry about getting randomly assassinated!

"That there's more things in life than girls?" she couldn't help but ask, earning her a look from Colbert.

"Miss Vallière..."

Oddly enough, Guiche didn't seem to mind. "No, it's alright Professor." he said to both their surprise. "I deserved that."

"Okay." Louise said slowly, drawing out the a with a raised eyebrow. "What was it you hadn't considered, then?"

Guiche folded his hands on the table, resting his thumbs against each other. "That I have been completely wrong about you all this time, miss Vallière, and I wish to give you my heartfelt apology."

It was met with a stunned silence, which he took as an invitation to continue.

"And if I'd been wrong about you and your magic, what else have I been wrong about?" he asked rhetorically, repeating the same thing he'd said to Montmorency in the Infirmary.

Colbert looked quite pleased at this. "Well Mr. Gramont," he said approvingly, making the young man look up at him. "You certainly seem to have matured as a result of this event."

"Thank you, Professor." Guiche said with a faint smile, which Louise noticed pulled slightly on the scars she now noticed he had on the lower right side of his face.

"Guiche, those scars..."

He blinked and chuckled a little as he touched the side of his face. "I got them when your Thunder Warriors blew my golems apart and some pieces of bronze hit me." at her worried look, he gave her a small wave with his hands. "Don't worry, the damage was just cosmetic."

"But..." Louise faltered, having never even intended to hurt _him_ in person. "Why haven't you gotten them removed? The healers in the Infirmary could easily do that with their water magic."

He laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "I've decided to keep them. Girls like men with battle scars, or so I've been told!"

Louise sighed, of course that was his reason. "Guiche..."

"And also..." she looked up at him again, surprised at the serious expression he suddenly wore. "I want them as a reminder. A reminder of my own stupidity, where it led me and to never judge a book by its cover."

She didn't know what to say to that. How would she even respond to such a thing? Luckily, Colbert was there to come to her rescue.

"A noble sentiment, Mr. Gramont." the Professor praised him again, earning a nod and a smile in return. He then turned to Louise who straightened a little as his gaze passed over her.

"Miss Vallière, he is obviously ready to bury the hatchet. Won't you accept his apology?" he asked her gently.

Well damn. She couldn't really deny him that after such an apology combined with his willingness to bear the mark that she'd inadvertently put on him. Taking a deep breath, Louise looked Guiche straight in the eye, and nodded. "Apology accepted."

Guiche grinned in a way more like the one she knew and stuck his hand out to her over the table. "Friends?" he asked.

Louise raised an eyebrow, they had never been friends! But oh what the heck. Taking his hand she gave it a firm shake. "Friends."

Colbert clapped his hands together once in appreciation, jolting the two out of their moment and causing them to pull their hands back so fast, they almost sent their teacups flying! "Wonderful! Now that we got that out of the way, you said you wanted to ask me about something miss Vallière?"

"Huh?" Louise blinked before remembering the reason she came here. "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you if you know any good ways of setting up a magical containment?"

"A magical containment?" Colbert asked in a puzzled voice. "What for?"

"Well, um, you see..." she hedged, looking over at Guiche who was now looking at her with curiosity clear on his face. "Um..."

"Come now, miss Vallière." the Professor said evenly. "We're all friends here, aren't we? Who knows, Mr. Gramont might be able to help you, as well."

She sighed, seeing no other option. "When my familiar was summoned here, he brought with him a special type of mineral."

"Oh?" Guiche asked, as an earth mage he'd always been interested in rocks and minerals, turning his curiosity into interest. "I might have heard of it, is it not native to Tristain?"

Louise chewed on her lip for a moment, debating with herself how much she should tell him. The fact that she was running extremely low was a deciding factor, however. "It's called Tiberium." she finally said.

"Tibi...rium?" he repeated the unfamiliar word, unknowingly doing the same thing as she had the night before the duel, to her slight amusement.

"Tiberium, with an e." she corrected him, feeling quite smug over something so insignificant as correct pronunciation.

Guiche rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "No, I don't believe I have."

"Neither have I." Colbert said, adding his own two cents to the conversation. "Do you wish my aid to find or replicate it?"

"And containment magic to... store it safely?" Guiche asked her, not understanding why she needed something like that for a mineral.

Louise ran her hand through her hair a few times as she tried to think of a good way to put it. "No, Tiberium is a type of mineral that exists as, um..." dammit! What was it Legion had said again?

"**Dynamic proton lattice."**

"...a dynamic pro-proton lattice, that then grows into a form of, er..." she continued, stumbling over the unfamiliar words. What the hell did it even mean!?

"**Fractal-heuristic replicating crystal."**

"...frac-fractal-heu-uristic rep-replicating crystal..."

"**As it leeches metals and other heavy minerals out of the soil."**

"...as it leeches metals and other heavy minerals out of the soul." Colbert raised an eyebrow. "Soil!" she hurried to correct herself, blushing in embarrassment. "Out of the soil!"

Both of the two others just sat and stared at her with nearly identical, blank looks on their faces. "What?" they said simultaneously, making her groan slightly.

"I have no idea what you just said, Vallière. And why were you talking like that?" Guiche asked in confusion before turning to the Professor.

"I think I caught some of it, but much evaded even my understanding." Colbert admitted. "Were you... repeating after your familiar, miss Vallière?"

Louise just nodded, red like a tomato as she stared straight down at the floor between her feet as Guiche looked between them as if they had just said they were actually dragons in disguise.

"She appears to have some form of telepathic link-" Colbert started explaining, but when Guiche looked even more confused, he revised it slightly. "-a mental connection with her familiar that lets it speak to her even though no one else can hear it."

Guiche's eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh I see, like the one I have with my own golems!" he looked over at Louise. "But aren't those usually just feelings and images and such, Professor? I know I don't get much more beyond the feeling that they're actually listening to me."

Colbert nodded, folding his arms as he once more went into lecture mode. "Normally yes, but miss Vallière appears to have a very strong link to her familiar. Stronger than any I've ever heard of before, which lets them have detailed conversations much like the one we're having right now. In fact, she even appears capable of hearing it play music to her!" he said excitedly, much to Louise's chargain.

"Professor!" she cried out in embarrassment. "Don't to tell him everything about it!"

"Ahaha..." Colbert laughed sheepishly even as Guiche looked at her with great interest. "It seems a got a little carried away, I'm sorry miss Vallière."

While Louise looked like you could probably crack an egg and fry it on her head, Guiche had a thoughtful look on his face. "Vallière if this is true..."

"It is true!" she shouted at him, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Then what you have summoned could very well be the find of the century!" he said, dispelling her embarrassed indignation as he seemed to channel the Professor next to him.

Louise looked at the two, now having almost the exact same expression on their faces.

"Don't you understand, Vallière? If we could figure out how to make all mage-golem bonds as strong as yours it would _revolutionize_ the world as we know it!" Guiche said excitedly, earning a few nods from Colbert.

"Well, maybe." she said, a little uneasy about it somehow. "But that doesn't change the fact that it happened almost entirely on accident, and I have absolutely no idea how it works or why!"

That seemed to do it as both men, younger and older, frowned and sat back down from where they had stood up in their excitement. "This is true, miss Vallière..."

She breathed out a sigh of relief before trying to steer the conversation back on track. "Anyway, back to the subject of Tiberium."

"Ah, yes!" Colbert said and Guiche nodded as well, Louise continuing once she was sure she had gotten their attention again. "If I understood it correctly, it's a type of mineral that grows and spreads on its own, converting other materials into more of itself. It also leeches useful things out of the ground which then manifests into these large, green crystals that can then be easily harvested." she explained, proud of having recalled the gist of what Legion had told her.

"I see!" Conbert said, leaning back in his chair with a faint creak of aged wood as he thought about such a strange material. His mind whirled with questions, as Louise had in a single paragraph taken a sledgehammer to everything he thought he knew about geology and mining. "Amazing."

Guiche, on the other hand, had a different reaction.

"That's not possible!" he cried out, eyes wide as this knowledge stuck a spoke in the wheels of his mind, being of much greater impact to him as he was an earth mage. He knew how minerals and metals worked, how to mine them and how to refine them. "Such a material cannot exist!" he hissed in alarm, his eyes going wide as his mind fought desperately to cope with what was for all intents and purposes, forbidden knowledge.

Louise blinked in confusion as the other two seemed like they were physically hurt by her description, Professor Colbert was stroking his chin with a look so far away on his face he was probably watching Romalia by now. Guiche had started hyperventilating as he gripped his head in both hands, muttering things like "Material density not less or equal!", "It just doesn't work like that!" and eventually he just wrapped his arms around his knees and started rocking back and forth, mumbling "Why? How? Why? How?" over and over to himself.

"Um... Legion?" she whispered under her breath.

"**Yes, master?"**

"Is this... normal?"

"**I have never seen this reaction myself, Master. But my records state that it was common for people to exhibit signs similar to shock when exposed to the knowledge of Tiberium and its uses when it first appeared on Earth."**

She frowned. "Then why didn't you warn me?!"

"**I speculated that since you did not express any symptoms of Tiberium Mania, as it was called, that perhaps humans in this world were mentally more adept at assimilating new information. It appears that this theory was faulty."**

Louise looked back at the two, where Colbert had now taking to scribbling in his notebook so fast she thought it might set itself on fire, and Guiche had curled up in a ball on the floor. Still muttering the same things over and over. "That's the understatement of the decade. So how do I cure them?"

"**Mild to heavy sedatives is normally recommended."**

"I can't just go raid the Infirmary, Legion!"

"**Then I suggest using some manner of alcohol, Master. Repeated studies show that despite the side-effects, it is highly effective at combating the effects of shock."**

Louise nodded at this, wine was the traditional go-getter for whenever you needed to calm down. She could tell right away that there was no chance of getting it out of Colbert where he kept his wine, since he was in no state to respond at the moment. Instead, she instead started looking around in his workshop on her own.

Ten minutes later, she was pretty sure she had checked the entire room and all she had to show for it was the detailed knowledge of where everything was in the room and a pile of empty bottles. She was just about to go and try slap some sense into them when a knock came at the door.

She paused to look over to the Professor, but he had apparently filled one notebook which was now lying in front of him, and had started on another. He made absolutely no reaction to the knocking, so she figured with a sigh that she had to do it herself.

Walking over to the door she pulled it open, bowing her head slightly as she did. "I'm sorry, but the Professor is indisposed at the-"

"Vallière?"

Louise's head snapped up to look at Kirche and Tabitha standing in the doorway, both looking at her in confusion. "Zerbst!" she cried out in surprise and irritation. "What are you doing here?"

Of course, Kirche had other ideas than giving her a straight answer. "Why Louise, I didn't think you'd be the one to steal his heart before I could!" she said, a smirk on her ruby-painted lips as she looked down on the shorter girl. "I'm so proud of you!"

Louise gaped like a fish out of water for a moment before shaking herself out of it, she had a task that needed doing. "Dammit, Zerbst! I don't have time for your jokes right now, I'm busy in here!"

The curvy Germanian smiled coyly, resting her left hand on her hip while her right index finger came to a rest on her cheekbone. "Oh don't be so greedy, Vallière! I'm sure Jean wouldn't mind a threesome!" she chirped.

Kirche blinked as Louise suddenly started beating her head against the door frame in frustration. "La Vallière?" she asked, a little uncertain now. Louise in turn gave her a _very_ irritated look before grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her inside. "Come with me!"

"Eh?" Was all Kirche got out before she was pulled into the door and set so she could see Colbert and Guiche in all their maddened glory. "Does this look like I'm having FUN to you?" Louise growled, her patience growing thin.

The dark-skinned Germanian blinked owlishly at Guiche, who was now sitting in a corner with tears flowing down his cheeks, and Colbert who had run out of books and was now writing formulas on the table. "What in the world is going on here?"

"Madness." Tabitha said in a serious tone, both heads turning to look at the serious bluenette who had now put her book away and was coming over to check on the Professor. "Dementia of some kind." she looked at Louise, who blinked at the somewhat accusing look she was getting.

"Poison?" she asked gravelly.

"Um.." Louise blinked before shaking her head. "No, we all drank of the same tea and I'm alright. I think they're suffering from information overload, or... something." she finished lamely.

The two other girls turned to look at her oddly, and she found she was getting _really_ tired of that look. Throwing her arms up in frustration, she just told them straight out. "I was talking to them about something my familiar took with him from his world, and they completely lost it."

"Must have been some serious business, then." Kirche said, raising an eyebrow at the sight before her.

"Information can be... dangerous." Tabitha said quietly enough that Louise barely heard her, before turning to look at the strawberry blonde noble once more. "Avenues of treatment?"

"I was, uh, looking for some wine." Louise said slowly. She'd never talked much with Tabitha despite their shared love for books, she often found the spectacled girl a little off-putting. Still, she seemed to know some things about insanity so she kept talking. "I thought the alcohol might help them calm down."

Tabitha rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Such a thing would never work if it was a poison, but if it was just a case of light psychosis...

Finally, and to Louise's surprise, she nodded. "Could work. Should be some in here."

"Yes, about that." Louise frowned as the red- and bluenette looked at her. "I was just giving up my search when you two showed up, all I could find were empty bottles."

"Well then!" Kirche smirked. "Let's go find some! I'm sure there are some in the kitchens!"

"_This would have been a lot easier if I'd just brought Siesta with me."_ Louise thought grimly as she opened the door, only to find the subject of her thoughts standing right there!

Siesta looked a lot better than when Louise had last seen her. Although she could still faintly see the bruise on her cheek, she'd had a chance to wash herself and was once more wearing a clean uniform like she always had. In her left hand she was holding a large basket of the kind you normally bring to a picnic, having just raised her right hand to knock. As their eyes met, the maid blinked owlishly with a faint blush spreading over her cheeks. But it was gone just as fast as she noticed the other two and forced it back down, instead smiling at them in greeting.

"Siesta!"

"Lady Vallière! And miss Zerbst and miss Tabitha!" Siesta greeted them all in turn, and was just about to say something else when Louise cut her off.

"No time for talk, Siesta!" she said hurriedly, to the maid's slight confusion. "We have a situation in here and we need some wine!"

To her credit, Siesta simply nodded in confirmation to her request. Lady Vallière had a task for her, questions could be asked later!

"I do have some with me." she said as she opened the basket. "Any specific preferences?"

"No, just the strongest you have!" Louise said before turning to Kirche who had been watching the two with an interested look in her eye. "Zerbst! Go find something to drink from!"

Kirche was a little taken back by the commanding voice from the younger noble, but quickly got her act together and moved back into the room. She took a quick look around and wrinkled her nose at the sort of organized chaos that Colbert kept in his lab. She hadn't had the time to actually look around when Louise dragged her in there, but there was no way she was going to find anything in here that wasn't filled with something nasty! Luckily, she was able to abandon that idea when she spotted the tea cups on the table where Louise and the two others had been sitting previously. She quickly walked over to the table in a few long strides and just emptied what was left in the cups on the floor, she could clean it up later!

"Valliére!" she called out over her shoulder. "Over here, I found some!"

Louise arrived a moment later with Siesta in tow as Tabitha stood off to the side, staff in hand as she prepared to cast magic should the two men somehow grow violent. Long experience had taught her to always be ready for anything when insanity was involved, and she'd better be safe than sorry.

She watched as Siesta expertly poured wine into the tea cups after unsealing the bottle, and how Louise and Kirche worked together to pour it down the throats of Professor Colbert and Guiche.

"_Not a bad show of teamwork."_ she mused silently to herself as she watched Kirche grab Guiche in a half-Nelson while Siesta kept his mouth open long enough for Louise to pour the wine in. _"Still needs work, though."_

Colbert was a little harder since he was a fully grown man, as none of them were actually strong enough to hold him down on their own. Kirche and Tabitha were discussing how to best tie him down while Louise watched with no small amount of worry as he kept writing and writing. In the end, it was Siesta who found the solution.

Without saying anything, she took a tea cup of wine, put it on a small serving tray and walked over to the manic professor with it in her hands.

"What are you doing?" Louise half-shouted in alarm at the maid, who only shook her head. "It's alright Lady Valliére, I've had to bring him things like food and drink before when he got so caught up in his work he'd forget to eat. Just watch."

Sure enough, as soon as she got close enough, Colbert's hand whipped out without looking to grab hold of the tea cup and drained it in one go. One of the few constants throughout the ages was the development of the "Caffeine Reflex" among researchers, as they instinctually reached for the easy stimulant to keep their brains working just a bit longer. Coffee was still mostly unknown to all but the highest ranking nobles in Halkeginia, but tea had been traded for from the lands in the east for nearly a millennium.

Eventually they all got enough wine in the two ranting nobles to snap them out of it, although in Guiche's case just made him pass out. Legion had been correct in his assessment that they had gone into something akin to neural shock as their minds ground to a halt, unable to cope with what they'd heard. Alcohol was very effective in treating the automatic tightening of the blood vessels that came with shock, although at a price.

Not wanting to leave him on the floor, putting Guiche in a chair was not an option so they ended up carrying him over to the Professor's own bed. Once they had him settled in, the remaining four nobles sat down at the table even though it was a bit of a tight fit. Siesta had gotten directions by Colbert where to find his tea supplies, and was brewing a fresh pot while the others started talking again.

"Thank you for the quick response, miss Vallière." Colbert said with a very slight slur in his voice as he slowly rubbed his temples. "That was... unpleasant, to say the least."

"You too, miss Zerbst and miss Tabitha." He said, looking at them each in turn as he said their names. Tabitha simply nodded in return, while Kirche gave him a flirtatious smile.

"No problem, darling!" Kirche said, blowing him a kiss.

Colbert sighed slightly at this, deciding to simply ignore the attempts of flirting from his student he finally turned to Siesta, who was just coming over with the pot. "And thank you, as well miss Siesta. Without your timely arrival, this mess would have taken a lot longer."

"I am happy to help, my Lord." she said with a smile and a respectful bow of her head as she started pouring tea into clean teacups, of which she'd thankfully brought some with her in the basket.

Louise has been quiet since they'd managed to get the two calm again, having been thinking over and over on how she could have made it easier for them to handle.

"I'm sorry, Professor." she finally spoke up in a quiet tone, making all heads turn to her. "If I had known you'd react like that..."

Colbert nodded his understanding, and then hissed faintly as the movement seemed to aggravate his headache. "I can't fault you for trying to be as thorough as possible when you gave us the information, it's how you normally do it after all." he smiled weakly. "This just wasn't a good time to do that, I think. Perhaps you can give it in smaller doses in the future?"

Louise nodded solemnly, not wanting to cause this kind of thing again. "I will do my best, Professor."

"What was the information about, anyway?" Kirche asked curiously, earning her a hard look from Tabitha who sat next to her.

"Bad idea." came the clipped remark.

"Aw c'mon, Tabitha!" the Germanian whined at her. "Aren't you curious?"

"Is curious." she admitted before giving a few, short shakes of her head. "Not enough to risk dementia."

"Bawww." Kirche pouted, giving the bluenette her best puppy-dog eyes. "Pleeeeease?"

Tabitha turned a page. "No."

"As much as this amuses me," Colbert interjected, making his two students look over at him. "but as both me and Mr. Gramont had some pretty serious reactions to it, I would advise caution."

Kirche turned to Louise this time, who recoiled slightly from the sheer force of her puppy eyes. "Urk!"

"Pleeeeeeeeease? With cherry on top?"

"Didn't you see what it did to them?" Louise demanded, only getting a shrug from Kirche in return. "I bet they were just overreacting."

Louise gave her a long, suffering look before shrugging her shoulders. "If you really want to know it that bad, fine!" she finally said irritably. "But don't come whining to me if-"

Kirche interrupted her with a loud exclaimation of "Yahoo!" and threw her arms up in victory, causing her assets to bounce which just served to increase Louise's irritation. "Let me finish, Zerbst!"

Once the bronze-skinned Germanian had settled back down, Louise continued. "I'm going to give you the abridged version, not for your sake Zerbst but for theirs." she said with a huff, even as Kirche grinned in victory. That cow!

"I have to admit I'm also a little curious, Lady Vallière." Siesta admitted from where she sat.

"Going outside." Tabitha said as she snapped her book shut and stood up, walking out the door and closing it shut after her.

Louise blinked at the sudden move, but as she _had_ said that she didn't want to know, it wasn't that surprising. Instead, she set out explaining it once more and this time only told them the bare basics of it; what it was called, how it worked and what it was used for. Stunned silence met them as both Kirche and Siesta blinked owlishly at her and as one, picked up their teacups and drained them.

"Wow, I can see why that upset them so much. I think I might need some wine of my own" Kirche muttered afterwards, actually feeling a slight headache coming on. "I'm not earth mage, but even I can tell that's pretty serious."

Louise raised an eyebrow at the older girl. "It's not that amazing, Zerbst." she said, raising her hands up in front of her with the palms up in a gesture of indifference before letting them fall back in her lap. "It'll make it really easy to mine for metals and such, so what?" She understood the basics of it herself, but saw it more as a thing of convenience than anything else.

"Lady Vallière, you don't seem to understand how important this find is." Siesta said seriously as she poured about half of what was left of the wine into her teacup before handing the bottle over to Kirche. "A lot of towns have mining as their only income and metal is always in great demand. With Tibirium-"

"Tiberium."

"Tiberium," Siesta corrected herself, taking a moment to empty her teacup of wine. "you would revolutionize all forms of mining in all of Halkeginia!"

Louise blinked, she hadn't through of it like that. "But it's so much more dangerous than ordinary mining!"

"Siesta is right, miss Vallière." Colbert said seriously. "And as you are currently the only person with access to it, you'd have a monopoly on all Tiberium-based resources."

It was starting to really dawn on Louise how important the green mineral was and without a word, she picked up and held her teacup out to Siesta. She had already forseen this and was already in the process of unsealing a second bottle, quickly pouring some into Louise's cup who took only a moment to drain about half of it.

"I can see that now, huh." Louise muttered as she held what was now her wine cup in both hands. "But Professor, wouldn't all of that fall to the Academy since I'd essentially be mining on their property?"

Colbert rubbed his chin for a moment as he went over the lands the Academy owned, finally shaking his head. "No, I believe your familiar set itself up too far away from the grounds for the Academy to have any claim on it. Nevertheless someone else might own those lands, but I can check and see who owns it when I go visit Osmond about setting up a containment circle."

"The Headmaster?" Louise asked curiously. "I thought you were setting it up yourself."

"Normally I would." Colbert replied. "But Tiberium sounds powerful enough that it might overpower anything I set up. The Headmaster on the other hand is a powerful square-class earth mage, he'll be able to do it much better than I ever could." he explained with a nod.

"That makes sense." Louise agreed and went to stand up. She was a little irritated that things turned out to be more complicated than she expected, but at least she got somewhere, right? With that in mind, she was just about to head out and over to her own room to maybe sit down with a book, or talk with Legion until dinnertime, when Colbert called out to her.

"One moment, miss Vallière!"

She paused mid-step and mid-thought, turning around to look at the Professor who seeing he had her attention once more, asked his question. "I have to ask, would it be possible for me to get a sample Tiberium?"

She raised an eyebrow at his question. "I suppose a small sample wouldn't be out of the question, but what for?"

Colbert stood up and walked over to where she was standing. "I'd like some in order to perform small-scale experiments to see how we'd best go about to contain it."

"But Professor, didn't you just say that it would overcome anything you'd set up?" she asked, raising an eyebrow up at the balding man. Hadn't he said just two minutes ago that he'd need the Headmaster's help for that?

"It would most certainly do that if I tried containing a whole field of it, which is why this would be a _small scale_ experiment." he explained, putting emphasis on the term _small._ "I am confident that I should be able to hold it in if all I did was put a tiny bit in a bucket filled with dirt, etched with runes of protection on it while standing inside a second circle of protection."

Louise wasn't entirely convinced however, and decided to consult her expert on the matter.

"Legion," she said in a normal tone, causing Siesta who had been gathering up the cups, snap her head over to her, and Kirche to just look at her strangely. "would this work?"

"**Possibly, my Master. There is insuficcient data to say whether these runes and circles of protection will stop the spread or not, but allowing Tiberium to grow from such a small amount will nevertheless take time."**

"Who is she talking to, Professor?" Kirche asked quietly, and Colbert once more explained to the two girls the nature of Louise's familiar.

"So it's feasible, then?" Louise asked, ignoring the whispered conversation they were having.

**"Calculating Tiberium growth. One moment."**

She folded her arms as she waited, the other three occupants of the room watching her quietly as they waited for her to relay the words of her familiar to them.

"**At optimal conditions, it would take between thirty-six to fourty-eight hours for ten milliliters of Liquid Tiberium it to multiply in sufficient quantities to fill a standard ten-liter steel bucket."**

"But that's optimal conditions." Louise murmured to herself. "What about the current conditions?"

**"****As this world lacks the ambient, microcrystalline Tiberium in the atmosphere that would normally accelerate its growth, it would in theory grow at rates similar to what it did it was originally discovered. However, it has evolved significantly since that time. Counting in these factors would put the growth rate at roughly half of the standard estimation, Master."**

"Hm. So seven to eight days, then?" Louise finished for him. That wasn't too bad, actually.

**"Correct Master. I will however point out that Tiberium is hazardous no matter the quantity, as even the smallest amount could cause Tiberium Toxemia in a human without protective gear, which will be terminal unless treated in time. Even more-so with Tiberium in its denser, liquid form."**

"What did you familiar have to say on the matter, Miss Vallière?" Colbert asked once Louise's eyes refocused once more from the far-away look she always had when listening to the voice in her mind.

"Legion said that you should be fine in about a week even without the protective runes and such, Professor." he started to smile but paused as he noticed the serious expression on her face. "He also stressed how dangerous it is to human beings that get exposed to it without protection, so you must promise me that you'll be careful!"

Colbert nodded and held up his hands in a placating manner. "I will take every possible precaution, Miss Vallière. I swear it on Brimir and my honor as a scholar!"

"Good." Louise said with relief, satisfied with his answer and happy to get it over with. "Let's head over to where my familiar is then, Professor."

"OOOH! I also want to come!" Kirche shouted exitedly from just nearby. "I bet Tabitha would like to see it too!"

Louise shot a hard look at the Germanian, her gaze moving to the still-closed door and the quiet girl who was waiting just outside. "Then you're going to have to go ask her yourself, Zerbst!"

"I'd... also like to come, if that's alright with you Lady Vallière." Siesta said in a respectful tone. "I'd like to thank Sir Legion for helping to save me and the other girls."

Louise rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation. "We're going to miss dinner because of this, aren't we?" she muttered, causing Colbert to chuckle slightly as Kirched passed by him in order to reach the door. "Not to mention what to with Guiche."

"Don't worry miss Vallière, I think I have some ideas as to how to solve most of our problems."

* * *

As it turns out, Louise had to admit that the Professor's solutions were pretty good ones all things considered. They sent Siesta to get someone to move Guiche to his room and get another picnic basket with more than just wine and sandwiches. Kirche managed to convince Tabitha to go with them to check out Louise's familiar, mostly through sheer force of excitement. Sylphid groaned a little under the weight of five passengers plus basket, but they still made there much faster than they had by foot.

It wasn't long until the five people and one dragon stood on the hill overlooking the Nod Construction Yard, the changes quite apparent for those who had been there before.

All the grass around the Construction Yard and the two new buildings was gone and in its stead was a perfectly flat, light grey surface of some kind that extended all the way around the buildings. Possibly underneath them, as well.

While Kirche and Siesta gaped at the alien structures with all their glowing and sometimes moving parts, Louise and Colbert took a moment to examine the two additions to her base more in detail.

The Hand of Nod had the same oblong, rounded shape to it like the Construction Yard had, although it was considerably less insect-like. Several spike-like decorations swept up from the sides and towards the back, with patches of pink in the middle and crossing in dotted lines across the roof. At the very back was a large, black hand clutching an orb, which both of them correctly assumed to be a representation of some kind.

The Power Plant was what appeared to be a very wide wheel of some kind with a pink glow shining from within, pulsing in a way reminiscent of a heartbeat. It had a somewhat redundant covering sweeping up from the front and over the top of it, which was once more segmented in a very insectoid fashion.

The moment was broken with the faint, scratchy sound of a page being turned.

"Ta-Ta-Tabitha!" Kirche stuttered out at the petite girl who was sitting with her back against Sylphid, reading as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world. "Have you seen anything like this before? Aren't you surprised?"

Tabitha briefly looked up at the older girl who was almost shaking in surprise and amazement at what they had expected to just be a big, black bug thing but turned out to be so much more.

"No."

In truth, Tabitha had originally spotted the location the other day while out flying with Sylphid. It had disturbed her to the core that Louise had managed to somehow raise buildings of metal that glowed in the dark, seemingly on her own. She simply chose not to tell anybody about it, although she was forced to note it down in her weekly report to her uncle in Gallia. She did however downplay it considerably, as she feared that he might decide to invade just to get it for another one of his bizarre collections.

"T-this is amazing!" Siesta breathed, having finally found her tongue after staring at the location for several minutes straight. "Where did you even get the materials to build all of this? The workforce?"

"Er, well..." Louise said a little hesitantly. "Legion sort of did it all, I think."

"Sir Legion did? On his own!?" Siesta blurted out, mind completely blown as to how a single person could build this much in three days' time. It took her entire family four days to raise a single barn for Brimir's sake!

"It is very impressive, miss Vallière." Colbert said, he himself trying to come to terms as to how this was possible even though he knew more about her familiar than the others. "What are those other two buildings, though? They were not here when we first visited a few days ago."

Louise nodded and first pointed out the Power Plant. "That's the Power Plant, Legion told me that it was necessary to build the other one." she explained, as she'd never asked exactly what it did. Turning her hand over to the Hand of Nod, she continued. "That's the Hand of Nod, which is where my Golems were summoned from."

Even Tabitha had put away her book as Louise had started talking, and she looked only slightly less confused than the other two girls. It was a plant that gave power? Well, the Hand of Nod was self-evident in the large protrusion shaped like a hand coming up from the back, but it was all so very strange.

"I... guess if you look at it from the side, it looks kind of like a flower?" Siesta hedged while pointing at the Power Plant, her head tilted slightly to one side. Earning nods and muttered agreements from the others.

"Well, um..." Louise muttered, frowning a little to herself. "Give me a moment and I'll ask him. Legion?"

"**Yes Master?"**

"What exactly does the, uh, Power Plant do?" she wondered out loud.

"**It supplies the power necessary for the function of all Nod buildings, with the exception of the Construction Yard that produces its own."**

"Yes, yes. But what do you mean by 'power', exactly?"

By now, the others had turned to watch and listen to the side of the conversation they could hear, waiting for the explanation.

"This is so odd." Siesta muttered as Louise started gesticulating at thin air. "Normally, you'd consider someone fit for the madhouse if they started talking to themselves and recieving answers no one else could hear."

"I know." Colbert agreed. "Had I not seen miss Vallière's familiar with my own eyes, I would be quite worried about her mental health as well."

"Well, the la Vallières have always been a little bit weird." Kirche said with a shrug. _"Although not quite this weird."_ she thought to herself, narrowing her brows slightly even as Louise turned back to them with a similar expression.

"Miss Vallière?"

"He said it supplies power to the other buildings, somehow." Louise said slowly, puzzlement in her voice and visible on her face. "When I asked what kind of power, he started using terms and words which I didn't understand at all most of the time."

"Well, that's to be expected." Colbert mused loudly. "Which parts did you understand, miss Vallière?"

"I think..." Louise began thoughtfully as she walked back over to look at the buildings. "I think he said they're all powered by lightning, somehow."

She got a lot of raised eyebrows by that statement, even from Siesta who wouldn't even pretend to know anything about magic. Anyone who'd ever seen a bolt of lightning from a mage or from up high knew that it contained amazing amounts of power, to control it in such a fashion was inconceivable.

"That's... impressive." Kirche said a little numbly, was this really the same Louise who she'd teased a week ago?

"I did not know that such a thing was even possible." Colbert admitted, before his eyes widened in excitement. "Could you imagine the wonderful things this could mean for all of Tristain, if it would be possible to apply elsewhere? It could change everything!"

"I don't see how that would even work, Professor." Siesta admitted hesitantly, getting a nod from Kirche. "Yeah, I mean... how would you even use it? I'd rather not get shocked by lightning whenever I turn a door handle." she joked in a light, teasing tone.

"Dangerous." Tabitha noted insightfully.

Louise sighed, unable to come with any counter-arguments at all. "Let's just go down there and fetch what we came for, alright?"

As the corridors were far too cramped for even a young dragon, Sylphid was forced to wait outside as the small group of people journeyed down into the dark building Louise called a Construction Yard. Down at the door which she had first thought was a dead end however, they ran into a slight snag.

"What do you mean you can't let them in!?" Louise shouted at the door when it wouldn't open even after she put her hand on it.

"**Master, I cannot allow access to sensitive equipment and information to a person unauthorized to do so."**

"Odd." Colbert reflected, unaware of Legion's words. "This worked without problem last time, did it not?"

The others just looked helplessly at each other as Louise made a sound not unlike a growling wolf. "Then why did you let us through the last time?"

"**The first time you and your teacher came here, I was still in the process of initializing the system start-ups and as a result, only the most rudimentary door protocols were active."**

Louise let her head impact against the solid metal door with a faint thunk. "And now?"

"**All systems are functioning at optimal capacity, access denied to all unauthorized personnel."**

She let out a loud sigh and turned around to look at the group, who had been amusing themselves with following the many glowing lines in the floor and ceiling. "So here's the deal." she called out in order to get their attention.

"We're listening, miss Vallière." Colbert said.

"Legion said that we were let in last time because he wasn't fully awake, I think."

"You think?" the Germanian mumbled, earning her a glare from Louise.

"Shut up, Zerbst." it wasn't her fault her familiar kept using a lot of strange words!

Colbert put himself between the two girls, holding his hands up. "Now, now. This isn't the time for arguments. What needs to be done, miss Vallière?"

"Hmph." she snorted, sticking her tongue out at Kirche and getting the same in return. "In order to get access, Legion said you all needed to be..." she paused for a moment as she recalled his words. "registered in the Nod database as.. authorized personnel."

"Joining Nod, in other words." the Professor summarized, earning a nod from Louise and uncertain looks from the others. "And how do we do that, miss Vallière?"

Louise held her index finger up in the air, opening her mouth for a moment before closing it and rubbing her chin. "He didn't say." she said a little awkwardly. "Legion?"

"**Normally a blood oath is required to swear fealty to the Prophet of Nod."**

"What!? That's barbaric! I'm not gonna have them do that!" she hissed, no longer bothered by the odd looks she was getting.

"**Acknowledged. In order for the most basic system registration, I require a palm print and voice sample. To do this, they need only place their hands flat on the Symbol of Nod and speak their names."**

Once she relayed this to the others, they looked at each other briefly as they tried to figure out who would go first.

"Do you want to do it, miss Zerbst?" Colbert asked in the same way he'd ask someone to demonstrate something in class.

"No way, Professor." Kirche shook her head. "Why don't you go first? Age before beauty!"

In the end, it was Siesta who with her head raised, bravely stepped forward to the wall and placed her hand on the large, triangular sigil on the wall.

"Siesta of Tarbes!" She declared loudly, the sigil outlining her to the others in bright red for a moment before the wall split along the middle with a faint hiss.

**"Registered; Tarbes, Siesta as: Guest of the Prophet."** Legion's voice rumbled in Louise's head, although she felt it would have been more fitting to let the others hear it as well.

Siesta stood with her hand extended for a moment before blinking at the glow coming from within the structure. Coming from the rows upon rows of monitors and switches, once more resembling nothing she had ever seen before.

"Huh, that was easy." she said half to herself before stepping inside with a small smile, the door hissing shut behind her.

A few moments passed as the others looked on in silence, broken by Louise clearing her throat. "Anyone else?"

The rest followed after that, copying the maid who had gone ahead of them, and before long they were all standing inside the command center. Although Louise and Colbert had seen it before, they all spent a few minutes just looking around in awe at the glowing walls with their scrolling symbols, the pipes running below the floor and everything else.

Suddenly, Kirche started chuckling to herself, making the others turn to her in confusion.

"What's so funny, Zerbst?" Louise demanded to the Germanian, who just grinned at her in return.

"Hehe... I was just thinking of how Guiche would have been really interested to see this."

Colbert smiled slightly, having forgotten all about the boy at this point. "Mr. Gramont will get his chance I'm sure." turning to Louise who were still giving Kirche irritated looks, he spoke up to her. "Do you mind if we look around a little, miss Vallière?"

"No, not really." she blinked. "Actually I'd like to do that myself since I was so overwhelmed the last time, I didn't see much of it."

"Alright!" Kirche shouted, pulling Tabitha, who had been studying one of the displays, to her in her usual fashion. "Time to go exploring! Maybe we'll find something cool, Tabitha!"

Louise rounded on them immediately, pointing her finger at her in frustration at her even being in here. "Don't you dare touch a single thing with those sticky fingers of yours, Kirche!"

"Let's all gather here in ten minutes, miss Zerbst and miss Tabitha!" Colbert called out after the duo.

"Yeah, yeah." the busty Germanian waved them off, interested in the prospect of exploring this new place. The fact that it belonged to a la Vallière just made it more fun! "C'mon, Tabitha! Let's go!"

They all spent a lot longer than ten minutes examining as much as they could of this new place with all its eye-catching details and dim lighting. They found several other doors, some of which would open as they approached, others required Louise's touch to unlock and even then many refused to open with the others nearby.

"These chairs are amazing." Colbert breathed as he sat in one of the office chairs that sat by one of the many work stations within the command center. "How were these made? What are they made out of? How is it possible that they can move and turn like this?" he asked rapidly.

Siesta had also sat down in one of the chairs and found the function to lean the seat back, and were sitting quite comfortably with her legs crossed as Louise tried to relay Legion's answers to the Professor.

"They're made out of an Al-Aluminion, er, Aluminium frame and, um, poly-polycarbonate foam covered with..."

Honestly, the maid couldn't care less what they were made of, but Professor Colbert was well-known for his interest in odd things and was almost breathing fire from everything around him. Siesta wiggled a bit into the soft stuffing and sighed contently as its supportive, ergonomic shape made a few things pop in her back. She was almost starting to doze off when Louise finally had enough.

"Arrrrgh!" she cried, startling Colbert out of his stream of questions as she ground her palms into her eye sockets. "I wish there was a way you could just ask all these questions to Legion directly!"

"**There may be a way to achieve this, Master."**

Louise immediately bolted upright in her seat, having also picked out one of the chairs to sit down in. "What?!"

"What is he saying, miss Vallière?" Colbert asked as he watched the emotions play over his student's face. She ignored him however, focusing on Legion's voice as he suddenly offered her the solution to one of her biggest issues.

"**I cannot copy the way I am currently speaking to you Master, as I do not fully comprehend how it works. However, field orders are often communicated through the use of comlinks, which should still function as intended. These are kept in stock within the Combat Information Center in which you are currently standing at all times."**

She had no idea what a comlink was, but at the moment she couldn't have possibly cared less! "Then bring them out at once!" she commanded, almost giddy at the thought of no longer having to be the go-between!

"**Acknowledged."**

All three looked over as a panel of one of the walls clicked open to reveal a small drawer which slid out on its own on quiet, well-oiled bearings. Inside was a padded section containing several rows of little devices that looked vaguely like black, uneven semi-circles.

"What's this?" Colbert asked as he gingerly reached down into the soft foam padding and pulled one out to look at it. Louise and Siesta both stood up and walked over to look as well, both equally puzzled.

"They look a little like the sea shells you sometimes find at the beach." Siesta remarked as she too took one out to study it more closely. "What's this little thing sticking out in the middle?"

"Legion called them com-links." Louise said with a raised eyebrow. "But he didn't say exactly what they were or how you use them, just that they'd let you talk with him directly."

"Maybe they're amulets of some kind?" Colbert suggested. "I know there's a wind spell that allows you to talk with someone from a long distance, they sometimes use it for important messages for the Royalty and the military. It's quite taxing to use, though."

"**These are communication devices designed to be worn on the ear and provide an easy way for Commanders to issue orders to troops on the battlefield."**

"But how do you use them?" Louise asked in confusion.

Instead of responding, the screen closest to the trio flickered to show an image of a human head seen from the front before turning slightly to the side so that the ear became visible. A representation of the device appeared next to it, and a short animation showed how it went into the ear and then twisted as the curved outer part locked behind it.

With it thus explained, it didn't take long for Colbert and Siesta to figure out how to slide it into place, although with some difficulty and a bit of discomfort at having something stuck inside their ears.

"Hello?" Colbert asked, and both he and Siesta both jumped slightly as a deep, metallic baritone resonated into their ears.

"**Greetings Professor Jean Colbert. I am LEGION, Voice of Nod and Right Hand of the Prophet."**

"W-well, um..." he stuttered as Siesta was at a complete lack for words, her hand held up to her mouth. Was this really what Louise had heard all this time, straight from day one? "Just... Professor is fine." he finally added once he got his wits back.

"**As you wish, Professor."**

"That's the first time you've called yourself that." Louise remarked, raising an eyebrow at the two titles he suddenly gave himself, but quite pleased she wasn't alone in hearing him anymore.

"**I did not consider it relevant information, as you seemed quiet upset when I first introduced myself to you, Master."**

"Hmm." she muttered, rubbing her chin. "You have a point."

"Is... does he always speak like this, miss Vallière?" Colbert asked her as he held one hand up to the comlink in his ear, Louise shook her head.

"No, he was quite a bit louder at the start." she replied with a small smile. "I had such trouble sleeping with him booming in my head like that."

"**The Master was quite displeased with the vocal settings I had been originally issued by the Maker, I altered them on her request."**

"You're talking about the bald man, right?" Louise wondered out loud, remembering the man in her dream. "I remember you calling him that back when we were in the capitol, but then you distracted me with that beautiful music." she said with a smile. She really needed to ask him to play that to her again sometime.

"**Yes Master. As I can no longer pronounce his name, I chose Maker as a substitute as he did indeed create me."**

"Wait, wait!" Colbert suddenly shouted with a wave of his free hand. "Who are you, or rather _what_ are you? Where did you come from?" he asked, suddenly remembering the questions that Louise had not been able to answer properly.

"**My full designation is the _Logarithmically Engineered Govering Intelligence of Nod,_ and I am an Artificial Intelligence created of the planet Earth in 2034."**

"Artificial... Intelligence?" Colbert asked in confusion.

"Your world is named dirt?" Siesta asked tentatively, having finally mustered enough courage to speak.

Louise smiled a little at the familiar question from the maid. "I actually asked him the exact same question, he said they named it Earth since that's what they had always stood on."

"Oh." She said in understanding, nodding slightly. "That makes sense."

"**An Artificial Intelligence refers to a machine or computer system****capable of**** perceiv****ing**** its environment and ****pe****r****forming independent choices and**** actions that maximize its chances of success.****"**

"How does it differ from a regular intelligence?" Colbert asked, not quite understanding what he meant by artificial. It was still made from the same basic materials from nature, right?

"**A Natural Intelligence present in humans and animals exist due to evolutionary factors that have slowly grown on its own through trial and error over the course of millions of years. An Artificial Intelligence was created through diligent research done by hundreds of thousands of individuals over the course of mere decades, and for a specific purpose."**

It was while the three were sitting there, quietly mulling over this new information that Kirche and Tabith a returned.

"Phew, I almost thought we got lost there for a second!" Kirche said loudly as they approached, frowning a little as they got no response from them as they all seemed intent on staring holes in the floor.

"Tristain to la Vallière? Hello!" she called as she waved her hand in front of Louise's face, succeeding in snapping her out of it.

"Get your dirty hands out of my face, Zerbst!" she shouted irritably, pulling the other two out of their musings as well. "Miss Zerbst, miss Tabitha!" Colbert said, blinking at them. "When did you get back?"

"Just now." Tabitha responded, narrowing her eyes at the black thing stuck in the Professor's ear. For a moment she was afraid this bizarre place had infected him with some kind of mind-control parasite, although he still DID act like he normally did...

"Ah, yes!" he said, suddenly recalling that he'd told them to be back in ten minutes. "Has it been ten minutes already?"

"**It has been 23 minutes and 49 seconds since they split from you and the Master, Professor Colbert."**

He raised an eyebrow, looking at the two girls with a bit of irritation. "Thank you Legion." to them, he then said. "You two are late!"

"Professor?" Kirche said, taken aback as he was acting just like Louise had before they left.

"You hear Legion's voice?" Tabitha asked suspiciously, making him blink slightly at the question before nodding at her.

"Yes! It's quite amazing really, he gave us these devices" he tapped the comlink on his ear. "that lets us hear his voice the same way miss Vallière has all this time!"

"Ooh!" Kirche said, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of unraveling the mystery of the mysterious voice! "Gimme one!"

However, as she tried going forward to get one, she was stopped as Tabitha held her staff out to bar her way. "Hey, don't block me Tabitha! I'm sure there's enough for both of us."

"Dangerous." the petite girl said, having never taken her eyes off of the Professor. "Could be mind-control device."

"Um," Siesta piped up, shrinking back a little as the bluenette turned her penetrating gaze on her. "I think I'm still acting on my own free will. It's a little uncomfortable, but it just lets us hear what Mr. Legion is saying instead of Lady Vallière acting as interpreter." she said, hesitant at first but with increasing conviction.

"Few even know when they are controlled." came the blunt response from the bespecled Gallian as she glared suspiciously at the drawer. "Don't trust it."

"Oh c'mon Tabitha." Kirche sighed at the paranoia her friend was exhibiting. "What do you want to do, check it for magical spells?"

Tabitha nodded, her hand gripping her staff a little harder in preparation.

"As amused as I am at seeing a Zerbst irritated, if you want to check them go right ahead." Louise said smugly, ignoring the raspberry that Kirche blew her.

She and the others watched as Tabitha stepped forward and waved the gnarled end of her staff over the entire drawer of comlinks, muttering spells under her breath. She kept doing this for quite a few minutes and Colbert blinked as he recognized some pretty advanced incantations for detecting harmful magics and substances.

"_I should probably ask her about that some other time." _he thought to himself as the petite Gallian finally finished, although she didn't look happy at all when she let the end of her staff rest against the floor once again.

"So, did you find any strange magic on them?" Kirche asked patiently, having folded her arms over her chest as she waited to Louise's great irritation.

Tabitha shook her head. "Did not find any magic or harmful substances. Could be something undetectable."

The Germanian smirked at the victory and stepped past her and over to the drawer, picking one of the comlinks out for herself. "Well in that case, I'll grab one for myself and you can't stop me." she said in a haughty tone.

After being showed by the others how to put it on, she twisted it into place with her tongue peeking out from between her lips. Once she was satisfied it was sitting nice and snug and wasn't going to fall off anytime soon, she turned around and grinned at Tabitha, her hands on her hips.

"Ha! My mind is still my own!"

"**Greetings, Kirche von Anhalt Zerbst."**

Just like all the others had, Kirche jumped at the sound of Legion's voice and ended up losing her balance only to try and halt herself on Louise's chair. Of course, she did not know that it had wheels and both of them went screaming into a wall with Louise ending up crushed under Kirche's greater mass.

And accompanying assets.

"Get your monstrous mammaries out of my face, Zerbst!" Louise shouted furiously as she tried in vain to get out from the Germanian, who was still dazed from the surprise and impact. It was only when the strawberry blonde girl started hitting her wildly in the sides with both hands that she finally extracted herself.

"Ow! Ow!" Kirche yelped as she scrambled to get away from the irate Noble. "You don't have to get violent about it!" she sniffed. "Typical la Vallière reaction to everything!"

"Well I wouldn't have to if you could actually try not to trip over your own feet!" Louise yelled at her.

"I can't help it if you insist in getting in my way without taking into account that you're no bigger than a grain of rice!" came the snide reply.

"Not again." Colbert sighed, a sentiment agreed on by Siesta.

The shouted insults continued back and forth for a little while, progressively getting shorter and shorter as it became more about quick insults than smart ones.

"Flea-size Louise!"

"Whale-chest Kirche!"

"Flat-as-a-board Louise!"

"Barbarian Zerbst!"

"Pea-brain Vallière!"

"Maneater!"

"_WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!?"_

Both Kirche and Louise snapped over to where the voice came from, pausing when they found that they were both looking at...

"Tabitha!?"

The Gallian in question looked at them with an expression as if saying 'are you stupid or something?' before side-stepping to reveal the sword Louise had bought the day before. The quillon covering the upper section of the blade was moving like a mouth, and the voice who had shouted at them came right from it.

"Can't a sword get some rest around here without you two harpies shouting the place up?" it paused for a second. "Wait, this isn't the shop! Did either one of you buy me?"

Everyone just stared at the sword for a few moments, it was one thing that this familiar from another world could talk, but a sword bought locally?

"**Interesting, a native form of Artificial Intelligence?"** Came Legion's remark.

"A TALKING SWORD!" came the shout of everyone present, except for Tabitha who really couldn't care less, but had to cover her ears from the sheer volume of it.

"Too loud."

* * *

Hmm, I didn't actually plan on having Tabitha be this suspicious of Legion and his technology when I set out to start writing this, but it's not that out of place is it? Considering her family I'd say it's in all likelihood what's allowed her to survive for as long as she has. Probably.

In case any if you were going to tell me off that there is no caffeine in tea, I did my research on it and it _does_ in fact contain a reasonable amount of it. The amount of caffeine in both tea and coffee varies a lot depending on how it's prepared, but it appears that it's roughly twice the amount in coffee compared to tea. At least according to what I was looking at that puts tea (any type, steeped for 3 min) at 124–418 mg/L, while percolated coffee (which at least, is the most common one over here) sat at 386–652 mg/L. Tea also contains small amounts of Theobromine and Theophylline, which are stimulants and Xanthines with effects similar to caffeine.

Some of you have also noticed that I've been putting in references from other forms of media like movies and games and such, which I've seen and enjoyed in many fics I've read myself. I didn't think anyone would mind it if I did that, and so far everyone seems to enjoy it, but because I'm the kind of author that listens, I'd like to ask what you all think about it.

Oh all my precious readers from all corners of the world, would you like me to continue to put in references to other works that I deem fitting in this setting?

**Just to be absolutely clear, this is and remains a pure ZnT/C&amp;C crossover!**

But as a fan of movies, anime and a lot of video games, I can't help but be inspired by those with stories that feature transhumanism, empowerment and winning against impossible odds. As Legion _does_ possess the sum of human knowledge, a lot of these will appear at some point in the story in form of entertainment media made available to her. These include books, film, TV-shows and video games and probably a cached copy of the Internet. Some things won't be possible to reproduce even with Nod technology, like a Lightsaber or a Portal Gun, but many concepts are still quite applicable.

Actually come think of it, does anyone have any suggestions for Earth media you'd like Louise to discover? I figured that the entertainment business probably wouldn't have slowed down significantly until maybe the Second Tiberium War which happened in the late 2030's, so all the entertainment of today would in all likelihood be present in Legion's database. I've been trying myself to come up with what Louise would be interested in watching/playing. But as I'm sure you all know, sometimes it's really hard to know if you like something until you've tried it.


	7. Aftermath Part II

Hmm, so I couldn't find much regarding enchanted weapons in the ZnT universe, despite poking through spacebattles. All I could really find is that there _were_ magical weapons, some of which had gained legendary status, such as Derflinger, but nothing on how they were made. So once again I made something up that I thought would make sense for the setting and as always, any comments about it are very welcome.

I'm now also more aware of how money works in Halkeginia, although there seems to be little consistency of the exact values even in the novels. I'll admit I haven't read them myself, but the page on spacebattles I've been looking at says that in volume 4, chapter 3 "...700 in Écu gold coins. An amount of money a commoner could use to live five to six years" and v9c5 "...the living expenses in Tristain per person was 120 Écu." each suggest that a typical commoner lives off about 120 Écu a year.

Economics are a pain in the ass!

"New Gold" is also mentioned every so often, but no real exchange rate between new gold and Écu seems to exist besides the fact that the new gold has a value of 2/3 of an Écu. As you might imagine, this is causing me quite a bit of a headache! When I set the price for the smaller, non-canon blades in the earlier chapter I just looked at what the prices for the full sword was and tried to make an estimate what a smaller weapon would cost like. I most likely overshot by quite a margin, which has been bothering me a little since I do try to make an effort to make this as realistic as I can.

So, I've been thinking that I'll simply go on using the Écu as well as adding the Sous (silver) and the Denier (copper) with the proper rates for them from now on. I'll eventually go back and fix the earlier chapters, but I'll be putting in extra effort to be more correct from now on!

* * *

Chapter 7

Aftermath Part II

* * *

"Yes, I am a talking sword." the sword pointed out helpfully in a lazy drawl once the noise had died back down to normal levels. Although it was more because they all could only yell for so long before they started getting light-headed than anything else.

"Any other obvious thing ya wanna point out, or are ya gonna keep screamin'?"

This successfully deflated whatever they had been building up and just came out as a loud exhale as their brains caught up with what they were seeing. For a few moments, the only thing that was heard was the humming of the many fans and systems of the Nod Central Intelligence Center, and Tabitha turning pages.

"What's with all the red an' black in here, anyways?" the sword asked loudly, confusion clear in its voice. In stark difference to Legion's steady rumble which was clearly not even trying to sound human, the voice coming from the sword was that of a middle-aged man with a bit of an echo, as if he was speaking while standing in a sewage pipe. Accompanying this was the faint but steady click of the quillon tapping against the crossguard every time it spoke.

Predictably, the person who managed to pull themselves out of their surprise first was Professor Colbert, who leaned forward in his seat to get a better look at the sword. "A magically sentient, intelligent sword! I've heard of such things existing, but I've never had the chance to see one!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"That's right, Baldie!" the sword clicked in a triumphant tone.

"H-hey!" Colbert stammered in surprise as he ran his hand over his head self-consciously, he'd never been insulted by a magical sword before!

"Hooh?" Kirche said, leaning in to get a better look with her hands resting on her hips. "Looks a bit shabby for a magical weapon, I would've expected it to be fancier looking than this."

The quillon clicked up and down a few times in surprised irritation. "Oi! Watch what you're sayin'! I'm the Legendary Blade, Derflinger dun'cha know!?"

"Ooooh!" Louise exclaimed in excitement as she crouched down next to where the sword was leaning against a console, actually rather happy with having received a talking sword. Had she summoned anything or anyone other than Legion she would most likely have been annoyed with it, but she was quite used to otherwise inanimate objects speaking at this point.

Although they had been created since the time of Brimir, magical weapons were rare and often expensive due to the time and effort required to make them. Since they were usually made from metal and on some rare occasions stone, an earth mage was always required to lay the primary enchantment. A blade that neither dulled nor broke was optimal in battle, thus these were always put on first (unless it was a mace, but most people seemed to prefer bladed weapons for some reason). They were also necessary if you wanted a fancier type of magical weapon with elemental properties, as the metal in itself did simply not have the integrity to hold that much power without breaking under the pressure. Many would-be enchanters had found their careers coming to a sudden stop when the sword they were trying to enchant with fire exploded in their faces, usually scattering white-hot shrapnel around like a grenade.

Despite this however, they had long been popular for their superior qualities, but it had waned quite a bit with the invention of the sword-wand, particularly with the mage knights. Even then it was not unusual to still find quite the collections of them in the private armories of wealthy nobles, particularly the old families with a history of battle. They were especially prized by the commoners as they required no inherent magic to be used, the only thing limiting their widespread use was the fact that even the cheapest of them would still cost you a year's salary.

"Why didn't you tell me it was a magic sword, Professor?" Louise asked curiously as she poked at the moving quillon with her index finger, making the sword click in annoyance.

"Oi! Stop that, girlie!"

"I didn't know it was magical." Colbert said honestly as he raised an eyebrow at the now obviously enchanted weapon. "Nor did the shopkeeper seem to, as he sold me not only the sword but the accessories for 70 Écu."

"That's... not very much, at all." Kirche frowned. "You'd think that you'd check if a weapon you had in stock were magical or not, that's just common sense."

Finding a magical sword for less than 180 Écu was amazing, for him to have been able to purchase a _sentient_ magical sword for less than half of that was nothing short of a miracle. It simply did not happen.

Tabitha was the only one to narrow her brows in a frown, hidden behind her book. She could accept that this thing that la Vallière had summoned came from another world, the evidence was clear all around her. There wasn't a single thing here that she could consider even remotely familiar, not the chair she sat in, the floor it stood on, the way the room was lit, or even the very scents in the air. But that she also somehow managed to get a talking sword from a back-alley weapon shop from the outer parts of Tristania? It was simply too much to be a coincidence, too good to be true. Something odd was going on here, and she wasn't sure what.

"Pah!" Derflinger snorted, annoyance clear in every word he spoke and each hard click of his quillon. "That stupid shopkeeper knew alright, he just didn't have th' brains ta realize what he had! He probably sold me for cheap so I'd stop annoying his customers."

"Did you?" Louise asked curiously to the sword as she drew it from the sheath once more, making sure to brace herself this time.

"Kek! Kek!" the sword snickered. "Of course I did. You saw his collection, didn't ya, pinkie? All he had was crappy merchandize, rusty an' dented or just poor quality. He jus' hated it when I pointed it out to his customers!" it laughed gleefully, having enjoyed it thoroughly every single time he made that old man stomp his feet in anger after having lost a customer. "Even those shiny things he liked ta try an' sell were crappy quality jus' made ta look shiny. They'd break th' first time ya swung it, guaranteed!"

"So, then why didn't you say anything when miss Vallière found you?" Colbert asked curiously, still having trouble making sense of it all.

"'Cause I was asleep, duh!" Derflinger clacked. "That shop was so boring, I could sleep fer weeks on end sometimes!"

"Swords sleep?" Kirches asked a perplexedly from where she was standing, now next to Tabitha, not wanting to be close to Louise as she swung the talking sword around.

"Of course we do! What'cha think sheaths are for?" clacking a few times in quick succession as Louise slashed at an imaginary opponent. "Hey, girlie! What'cha doin' that for?" it said irritably. "Better put me down before ya hurt someone with those wild swings!"

Now Louise _was_ getting a little annoyed at the sword, the novelty of it slowly wearing off, his comments slowly but surely starting to grate on her nerves. Legion wasn't much of a problem because he always spoke with respect and dignity, in enormous contrast to the crudeness of this sentient piece of steel.

"Hey!" she grumbled at the sword as she stopped swinging and held it up in front of her, glaring at the rather smug-looking quillon. "Is that any way to talk to your new Master?"

The sword wasn't very impressed though, clear in its dismissive reply. "Aren't you s'posed to be a Noble, Girly? Go back to swinging yer wand and havin' tea parties and hand me to yer familiar instead!"

"Which part?" Kirche asked innocently, even as the corners of her mouth pulled up in a smirk. She could tell that Louise was nearing the point where she might do something rash and as much as she enjoyed seeing the pinkette get worked up in fury, it wasn't worth getting a sword flung at you.

"Ya stupid or sumethin'?" the sword huffed indignantly. "The hands, of course!"

"Oh?" she replied as her smirk grew to a grin. "You're inside it right now, you see any hands anywhere?"

"Wha-wha-what?" Derflinger spluttered in confusion, his quillon staying in open position for a few moments. "What'cha mean we're _inside_ it!? Ya can't summon a freakin' building as a familiar!"

"Hmph!" Louise said with a slight sniff. She was happy it was finally put in its place, but at the same time annoyed that the Germanian had been the one to do it. "Who the hell do you think I am, you rustbucket?" she taunted the sword in her hands. "I am Louise de la Vallière! A Noble of my caliber isn't limited to your petty ideals of what can and can't be summoned!"

She closed her eyes in victory, waiting for the inevitable comeback, but frowned when nothing came from the sword. Looking at it, she saw that the quillon sat unmoving just as it had when she first got it, looking for all intents and purposes like an ordinary sword once again.

"Hey, sword!" she shouted, shaking it a few times and getting increasingly annoyed when no response came. "Answer me!"

"I think you broke it, Vallière." Kirche chuckled, earning her the customary glare from Louise.

"Shut up, Zerbst!" she hissed furiously as she threw the sword on the grated floor with a clang, waking up Siesta who had actually fallen asleep in her chair despite the animated discussion. "Whuzzup?" she muttered groggily even as Louise stomped off deeper into the building, hearing a door hiss open and then close once more as she passed through.

"Nothing unusual, just miss Zerbst annoying miss Vallière again." Colbert said as if it was an everyday occurrence (which it was) and leaned down to pick up the sword, turning it around in his hands. "Derflinger?" he called out to it, but when no response came he shrugged and slid it back in its sheath.

"Oh don't worry about her." Kirche shrugged nonchalantly. "This happens to her all the time, she'll be back to normal in a little bit."

"Either way, I still haven't gotten what I came here for." Colbert said while pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation, earning a sheepish grin from Kirche. "Oh, right. Sorry Professor."

At that point, Tabitha had enough of all this and closed her book with a loud clap. The dim lighting was difficult to read in, and she had a report that needed writing. "Leaving." she said simply as she began to walk towards the exit.

"Ah, wait up Tabitha!" Kirche called out as she hurried to follow her short friend, leaving only Colbert and Siesta in the room.

A few seconds passed in silence before the maid finally spoke up over the faint humming and occasional beeping of the systems around them. "Should we go after her, Professor?" she asked, hesitation in her voice.

"Yes, that's probably for the best." he sighed. "Although I have no clue where she went."

"Oh, um..." Siesta frowned for a moment, tilting her head in thought before her eyes suddenly widened as a thought struck her. "Professor, perhaps Sir Legion knows where she went?"

"Ah!" he exclaimed, having forgotten all about the presence of the mysterious familiar during all the commotion around the sword. He'd even stopped noticing the comlink still attached to his ear, a testament to whoever engineered the thing.

"You're right miss Siesta! Well, er..." he faltered slightly for a moment. "Legion? Are you there?" he asked straight out into the air as he'd seen Louise do, despite not being able to shake how _strange_ it felt to do so.

"**Yes, Professor?"** came the immediate response, once more making the two twitch a little as his voice resounded in their ears. They'd mostly ignored it while talking to him earlier, but now that the excitement had worn off it struck them once again how very... different his voice was, compared to that of ordinary people.

"Do you know where miss Vallière went?" he asked slowly he stood up, followed by Siesta a moment later.

"**Yes Professor. The Master is currently in the kitchens one level below your position."**

Siesta lit up slightly at the mention of a familiar location even while surrounded by so much that she couldn't even begin to recognize. _"I guess this place wasn't made to be staffed entirely by golems, then?"_ she thought to herself with a smile.

"Good! Well, uhm..." he trailed off once again, looking around for a second and frowned as he didn't spot anything resembling stairs. "How do we get down to the kitchens, exactly?".

* * *

Louise sat alone at a rather small table in a rather large room that she found at the very back of the subterranean building.

After she had left the CIC in fury, she had simply walked deeper and deeper into the building that held the mind of her her familiar, eventually coming across a large room that reminded her ever so slightly of the Dining Hall at the Academy. Legion had identified it as a _Mess Hall,_ although she was completely clueless as to why it was called that, as no matter where she looked the place was absolutely spotless!

Curiosity overtook anger as she wandered past two rows of large tables, each big enough to seat at least twenty, and a long counter of some sort that ran along the entire length of the back wall. The place was brightly lit as opposed to the dark red illumination that she'd seen elsewhere, supplied by glowing strips in the ceiling that had flickered on when she first entered the room. The chairs and tables were still red and black, but the floor was some kind of beige color that sounded vaguely like stone when she walked on it.

Beyond the counter was what Louise could only assume were the kitchens. Although they were lacking any form of cooking fires, it was hard to mistake the many working surfaces and racks of knives as anything else. Cabinets lined the space underneath and above both sinks and counters, bottom rows interspaced every so often with sets of drawers than only seemed to come in sizes of large and very large. Finally, the floors and walls were covered in some manner of white tiles that appeared to be made of porcelain, which struck her as rather odd.

Who the hell furnished things out of porcelain when you had access to marble?

She spent a couple minutes examining the many oddities of the kitchen, checking inside the various drawers and cabinets purely out of curiosity. Some of what she had assumed to be some very large cabinets were in fact ice boxes, ice-less ice boxes no less! Some were small but at least two were entire rooms, packed from floor to ceiling with frozen foodstuffs on long shelves.

Louise's thin summer uniform gave very little protection against the chill found in the small but very cold room, having never even imagined there could be such a thing, but at the same time curious about it. "Brrr!" she said shivering, rubbing her arms as she looked over the many bags and boxes. "Why is it so cold in here?"

"**You are standing inside an industrial freezer, Master. Their purpose is to be cold storage for otherwise perishable foods, allowing for them to last longer without spoiling. I would not recommend that you stay in there for too long, or you may start to suffer ill effects."**

She nodded enthusiastically and quickly made her way out of it and closed the heavy, insulated door behind her with a quick. Breathing a sigh of relief when she felt warmth starting to seep back into her limbs, she continued exploring the room. Eventually she pulled open a large drawer, which opened very easily despite its size, finding rows upon rows of small boxes sitting within it.

"Legion," she said curiously as she took out one of them, apparently made out of some sort of hard, paper-like material with something written on it in characters she couldn't read. "what am I looking at, exactly?"

"**That is a cardboard box of flour, Master."**

"Huh." she muttered, squinting at the strange, vertical characters that didn't even resemble the properly slanted, Brimiric runes she was used to. "This says flour?"

"**Enriched Wheat Flour, Master."**

"Ok-aay." she said slowly, not entirely sure if she wanted to know what "enriched" meant. Putting it down she pulled out another box. "What about this?"

"**Powdered Cocoa."**

Louise shook her head as she put it back where she found it, closing the large drawer in which it was kept. "I have no idea what that even is." she admitted. "I take it these are supplies for the people meant to work here?"

"**Yes Master, the Mess Hall is where the Ranked Officers ate their meals together, regular soldiers were served at the barracks within the Hand of Nod."**

"I see." She muttered as she spotted a small table off in one of the corners that looked like it could seat maybe six people, probably intended for the cooks to have their meals at before preparing everyone else's. She walked over to it intending to sit down after walking around so much, but had to pause and examine the very curious-looking chairs that was set alongside the table. They still followed the general shape of a chair with four legs, a seat and a backrest, but the way they curved this way and that looked extraordinarily strange to her. Most chairs that she'd seen in her life were either of the stuffed armchair type, or the high-backed dinner chairs, usually with round, cushioned seats. These had no cushions, but their seats curved downwards ever-so slightly with the same thing mirrored in the backrest which also went up a little at the bottom.

This made her very curious although she didn't quite understand why they looked like that until she actually sat down in one. Louise almost shivered in delight as a series of pops raced up her spine when her back came to rest against the ergonomic curves of the chair, these things were amazingly comfortable! After a few moments of this she leaned forward with a sigh and folded her arms on top of the table, letting her head rest in them as the memories of earlier started creeping back now that her mind was no longer occupied. Stupid sword and stupid Zerbst, the fact that they hadn't actually ganged up on her was only the smallest of consolations.

"**Master, are you still feeling upset? I could play you some music if you wish it."**

"Not this time, Legion." she said quietly, muffled by her arms. She still felt a little irritated but mostly she was tired of how things still didn't quite go her way, even after staying true to her promise to summon an amazing familiar. Although he was both unswervingly loyal, supportive and extraordinarily capable, he was incapable of offering her even the most basic of physical comforts. Which she could have really needed right now.

"**Would you like me to make something for you, then?"**

Louise raised her head from her arms, raising an eyebrow. While it wasn't surprising to her that he could also cook, it wasn't exactly what she'd expected to hear. "You have tea down here?" she asked hopefully. Some tea _would_ be nice right now.

"**Not at this time, Master. However, I can prepare something else for you using the ingredients available."**

Thus, Louise was introduced to one of the greatest wonders that Earth had ever produced.

Mess halls had come a long way since the days of the late 19th century when all food basically came in large tin cans which were then heated up and sometimes seasoned a little by the army cooks. Cooks were still used of course, as Nod was hardly blind to the positive effects that good food had on troop morale as well as the dietary needs of men and women who fought for them. An army marched on its stomach after all, and quite a bit of research went into making the act of cooking both quicker and more efficient in the form of computer-assisted automations in the kitchens themselves.

At first the advancements had been simple things, like programmable stoves to heat food at a certain temperature for a specific length of time, and dispensers for ingredients so that the cooks could in advance set things to start up on their own. This freed them to do other things that were still considered to require human touch, like cutting vegetables and trimming meat.

These automated kitchens grew increasingly more sophisticated as the years went by, enabling even the regular run-of-the-mill soldier to get excellent food even while out in the field. Although he never admitted it out loud to anyone but Legion, Kane was quite pleased with this as it made it easier to attract people from the more desperate areas of the yellow and red zones, its people a lot more willing to fight and die for someone who gave them food than someone who did not.

As the fighting got increasingly desperate however, cooks became more hesitant to follow the Nod troops out into the front lines as they used to. They were cooks and not soldiers after all, so after a certain point they began to design the automated kitchens to operate entirely on their own based on recipes and digital algorithms to mimic the actions of cooks. Therefore, Louise only had to watch as a rather unremarkable cup were placed underneath the tap of a strange device with many knobs and switches covering its surface, and filled to the brim with a rich, dark brown liquid. A spindly, mechanical arm then descended from the ceiling and picked up the cup and deposited it in front of her without spilling a single drop of its precious contents.

She had had many things in her life that were indeed fine in both quality and favor, but the rich aroma of chocolate, with its distinctive balance of bitterness and sweetness was completely new to her. And when Colbert and Siesta found her only a few minutes later, she was sitting at the table with a dreamy smile on her face and an empty mug in her hands.

Colbert was a little worried when he saw the dreamy, borderline drugged look on his student's face walked over to her. He didn't think Legion would have under any circumstance tried to intentionally poison his master, but Founder only knew what effects something from another world could have on her. Who even knew how substances from a place so different could affect people from this world, where those crops didn't might not even exist in the first place!

"Miss Vallière? Are you alright?" he asked her, noting with some relief that she seemed to quickly shake off the effect of whatever Legion had given her to drink.

"Hm? Oh yeah, I'm fine Professor!" she replied with a happy smile.

This was mostly due to a certain bitter alkaloid found naturally in, but not exclusive to, the cacao plant known as Theobromine. It wasn't quite as effective as caffeine (although it _was_ in the same group) in stimulating the central nervous system, it still had a significant bliss-inducing effect when combined with sugar.

_Me likey!_ Her brain shouted at her, quite happy to release its payload of dopamine in her bloodstream in return.

As the Professor continued to fuss over Louise, much to her annoyance, Siesta walked over and peered into the mug on the table. It was a soft, muddy brown in color and she almost though it _was_ mud until she got a whiff of the warm, slightly dusty scent of its contents.

"What exactly _is_ this, anyway?" she asked curiously as she picked the mug up to her face, inhaling its rich, bittersweet aroma.

"**A beverage native to my homeworld of Earth known as Chocolate, which has been enjoyed both hot and cold by its citizens for over 500 years for its rich flavor and beneficial effects on the body."**

Adding **"The effects are not normally this pronounced, however."** a few moments later in what could only be described as a mildly puzzled tone.

Satisfied that Louise was in no danger, Colbert raised an eyebrow at the description Legion gave them of the drink as well as the slight puzzlement in his synthetic voice. It didn't match with anything he knew except for a type of luxury product that had recently begin to appear with traders from Rub 'al Khali, but the _Kahve_ that he had seen was considerably darker in color.

"Is it harmful to her?" he asked cautiously, causing Louise's head to snap over to look at him with a look of horror on her face. Luckily, Legion's steady voice soon put her fears to rest.

"**No Professor, the lethal dose of chocolate is considerably higher than the amount currently present in this entire building."**

Colbert suddenly felt very embarrassed with himself after hearing that, gulping slightly as slowly turned to look at the burning eyes of a very irritated Louise. "Prof-ess-or!" she ground out, making him raise his hands defensively in front of him.

"N-now now, miss Vallière!" he stammered. "I'm only trying to look out for you! What if he had given you something harmful?"

"He wouldn't do that!" she hissed at him. How dare he come and ruin her chocolate-fueled happy mood? Argh!

* * *

It took Louise almost ten minutes to calm back down and she had demanded another cup of hot chocolate, which Colbert had been forced to agree to. Siesta had asked to try some too but the Professor finally put his foot down and reminded them that this wasn't the reason they were here. The chocolate would still going to be here when they were done, he argued, also reminding them that dinner would be served soon.

They reluctantly agreed and under Legion's direction they all went deeper into the structure until they came to a large door not unlike the one at the entrance, but emblazoned by a large, green logo of some kind.

It resembled three hexagons divided in the middle by a wide, symmetrical Y-shape that followed the two inner lines of each one. Neither of them were familiar with it and even Louise admitted that she'd never seen this particular icon before.

"**That is the international warning symbol for Tiberium, Master."** Legion responded her when Louise asked him what it was. **"Beyond this door is our current store of Liquid Tiberium. Although the current levels of Tiberium is low enough that it does not produce significant amounts of radiation, there may be residual amounts remaining in the glass of the observation window. For your safety, please do not touch the glass."**

Once they had all agreed to this, the doors unlocked with an odd rumbling noise as the solid metal bars that held the door in place retracted before it could open. Once it did, their eyes widened as brilliant emerald light spilled into the corridor, erasing even the native crimson colors that otherwise dominated everything.

Beyond the door was a small room with heavy metal doors sealing two entrances to each side, and right in front of them was a thick pane of glass overlooking the containment bay below. As they walked up to the window, they were greeted by a large, square room which held ten cylinders reaching all the way from the floor and up to the ceiling. Most of them were empty, but the one in the middle was about filled to about a third of the way with a glowing substance with of a significantly darker shade of emerald green than the light it gave off.

"So that's Tiberium." Louise said quietly, strangely captivated by how it shimmered and glittered like sunlight on water, yet from within. "I... thought you said it was a mineral?"

"**Liquid Tiberium, to be precise Master. It is often processed into a more energy-dense, liquid state from the crystals it forms naturally in order to store it more effectively. As you can see however, what little remains will not last long unless we begin the process of growing more."**

"And to do that, you need our help." Colbert added in a quiet voice as if afraid of disturbing the captivating substance before him.

"**Correct."**

The three tore their eyes from the glittering emerald glow and over to a hatch that had just opened in the floor with a clunk. A wide metal pedestal rose up to about chest level with the faint rumble of hydraulics before locking in place, the upper tip splitting into three claw-like protrusions that retracting down into the pedestal with a metallic click. Held in the middle of this was a small glass tube, reinforced at the ends with metal, contained a small amount of shimmering Tiberium within its protected center.

"**The Master has authorized you this small sample, Professor Colbert."** Legion said solemnly as Colbert gingerly took the reinforced glass tube off the pedestal, which then closed shut again and retracted back into the floor.

"**I must stress to you how precious and dangerous Tiberium is even in small amounts, it is vital for the sake of Nod and your own safety that you handle it with the utmost care."**

"I will." he promised, already going through in his head how to best preform the tests. He needed to set up a secure testing area in his lab, enclose it somehow as he had no idea how it would react to being subjected to magical containment. He'd have to take great care in how much he used at a time in case it had a violent reaction, with some luck that wouldn't happen but it was far better to be safe than sorry. As the Professor pondered this, cradling the vial of Tiberium protectively in his arms like a baby, followed the other two out of the room again on autopilot. He didn't even notice it when they left the viewing platform and the door closed shut once more behind them, cutting off the powerful emerald light.

"Well, um..." Siesta began slowly, still a little dazzled by the brilliance of this new and wonderful substance that Louise's familiar had brought to their world. She had stayed silent until now because she simply didn't have anything to say, but now felt the need to say something now that they had no other pressing matters to attend to. "What would you like to do next, Professor, Lady Vallière?" she asked.

"Well, let's get back to the Academy I guess?" Louise blinked, her mind still on the Tiberium as she started walking down the dimly lit hallway while trying to remember which way they came to get down here.

Left? Right? Err... down the middle?

She had just opened her mouth to ask Legion what way to go when the A.I. in question spoke up, although for an entirely different reason.

"**Master, before you leave, there is one matter that I need to bring up with you."**

Louise couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise, he always stated things to her straight out. He usually wasn't this... taciturn. "What is it, Legion?"

"**I have noticed a tendency for you to go headfirst into needlessly dangerous situations, often alone and without neither the appropriate amounts of armor nor weapons."**

Ah, there was the Legion she was more familiar with.

"Is this about me leaving my guards at the carriage again?" she sighed, a little annoyed. A familiar was supposed to protect their master, of course, but she actually thought he took it a bit far with his mothering sometimes. "Nothing bad happened, Legion."

"Besides, I'm a Noble." she added with a shrug. "I don't need a sword and shield, I have magic!" she reminded him with pride in her voice.

"**Although also valid, that was not the point I was trying to make, Master. You were in grave danger during your encounter with Count Mott, and it is unlikely that you would ever have escaped him had you not brought the forces you did."**

This actually made Louise swallow slightly as she recalled how helpless she was in his water prison, no matter how hard she tried to forget it. It didn't change the fact that what Legion was telling her was in fact the truth, she had been completely caught off guard by his water magic and if she hadn't had three dozen Militants ready to come to her aid...

She didn't even want to think about what might have happened. Considering what she had seen down in his dungeon, that would have been very bad indeed.

"Lady Vallière..."

Louise jumped and whirled around to Professor Colbert and Siesta who were still standing just behind her, the latter being the origin of the words spoken to her, a concerned look on her face.

To her embarrassment, she found she'd totally forgotten they were even there!

"A-ah!" she hurried to explain. "I was just talking to Legion, he said that-"

"I know, miss Vallière." Colbert interrupted her, although not unkindly. He turned his head slightly and tapped the earpiece he'd gotten earlier. "We heard it, too."

Louise went beet red for a split second, she'd forgotten about those, as well. "Well, um..." she trailed off, but to her relief the balding Professor didn't seem angry at all. Actually, he looked oddly supportive of the notion.

"As much as I don't like it, Legion has a point, miss Vallière." he said in a slightly resigned tone. It was well known in the Academy that the Professor was a pacifist with a great dislike for war and violence. Although he preferred to solve disputes with logic and diplomacy, there was no one who doubted his skill and ability as a fire mage, as he had often demonstrated during practical excercises.

"Y-you think so, Professor?" Louise said, a little surprised. "But I have a magical sword, now! I don't need to wear steel plate too, do I?"

"E-even though she saved me and the other girls, I can't can't really imagine Lady Vallière as a knight." Siesta added quietly, having grabbed fistfuls of her skirts as a form of comfort. "N-not that I'm not thankful, but..." she trailed off.

Colbert frowned slightly as he mentally compared Louise with the image he had in his mind of a younger Karin Vallière. It was completely true that he couldn't really imagine her in the same kind of steel plate armor as her mother were known to wear. Maybe leather armor of some kind...?

"**The Nod composite armor I intended is not only far lighter, but also considerably more effective than steel armor even at twice its volume."** Legion helpfully added his own two cents.

"Really? That doesn't sound so bad, actually." Louise mused out loud, getting a few slow but enthusiastic nods from Siesta and Colbert.

"I agree, miss Vallière. Now is just the question of finding it, I suppose." Colbert said as he looked around for things like signs and such, frowning when he found that none he found appeared to be written in any language he knew.

"**Follow the waypoint to Sub-Armory 3, I will explain it more in detail when you get there."**

"Waypoint?" Louise asked in confusion before she jumped slightly as a bright point of light, like a tiny crimson star, appeared on the floor beneath her feet. "Whoa!"

As they watched, this point drew a line along the floor in front of them, going down most of the hallway before disappearing around the corner of a side corridor further ahead. They all stood in silence for a moment before Siesta suddenly burst into a brief bout of giggles, causing the other two to look at her oddly.

"S-sorry!" she said between giggles as Louise and Colbert looked at each other as if they feared she'd finally lost her marbles. "It's just... it's just like that old fairy tale where the brave adventurer follows a trail of bread crumbs to his goal, isn't it?"

Colbert couldn't help but give a chuckle of his own as he too, recalled the same story. "Ah, Charles and the Forest witch, isn't it?" at Siesta's nod, and Louise's look of interest he recited: _'And lo, through the Founder's Grace did the bread crumbs turn into specks of silver which reflected the moonlight, allowing him to find his way even in the dark of night.'_

"Yes!" Siesta smiled happily. "My mother used to read it to me all the time when I was a little girl. It's just like that, wouldn't you agree Lady Vallière?"

"I guess so." Louise said, bearing a faint smile of her own, recalling her big sis Cattleya reading it to her, as well. "Well, let's follow the breadcrumbs then, shall we?"

* * *

The room they eventually found after following the waypoint was considerably more compact than what either of them had expected, nothing like what either of them thought of when they heard the word armory.

They entered through what for all intents and purposes appeared to be a glass door with a line of crimson running along the outer edge of the glass. Emblazoned in the middle in the same color was a single word neither of them could make heads or tails of, but it slid open with a faint hiss, vanishing into the wall to their left. Inside was a room shaped like a simple square with angular, rounded corners and a large metal pipe in the middle of it, similar to but considerably smaller than the ones in the Tiberium storage facility.

"This is the Armory?" Colbert asked in confusion, mirrored by the two younger girls with him. "I see neither weapons nor armor in here."

Louise frowned and was just about to ask Legion what they were supposed to be looking at here, when red lines were suddenly projected onto her from emitters in the two corners closest to her and from the top of the metal pipe. It lasted only for a moment, Legion's voice coming to them a moment later in an oddly stilted manner, like someone reading lines off of a piece of paper.

"**Scan complete. Biometric match for: Louise de la Vallière, Rank: Prophet. Cycling armory selection to top-level access."**

A loud whirring noise followed by a series of metallic clicks were heard throughout the room before tall, rectangular sections of the walls slid out with pneumatic hisses to reveal long weapon racks that extended nearly all the way to the pipe in the middle. They were completely filled to the brim with exotic weaponry, ranging from small hand-held ones, to the same type Louise's Militants used and some even larger than that.

As the two young women slowly made their way forward to examine the racks, Colbert felt a drop of cold sweat run down the back of his neck at the sight of so much military-grade hardware.

"_By the Founder, there's enough weapons in here to outfit a small army!"_ he thought to himself, suddenly _very_ happy that his student had never show any tendencies to misuse the power that had been thrust into her hands by the magic of the summoning ritual. He shuddered to even imagine the consequences if someone more unscrupulous, the mad king of Gallia for example, had gotten access to something like this.

"Wow." Louise breathed in awe as she looked over everything in the first rack to the left. "I didn't know Nod had these many types of musket weapons at their disposal."

"**Rifles, Master."**

"Eh?" Louise blinked as Legion once more threw an unfamiliar word at her. She was going to have to carry around a dictionary at this rate!

"**The smoothbore musket which you seem to be referring to has not been in use on Earth for approximately two and a half centuries."**

"Please be more specific, Legion." she groaned, rubbing her forehead with one hand.

"**Very well Master, please divert your attention to the screen to your left."**

A part of the wall next to where the rack had extended out from suddenly began showing an image, and she was soon joined by Siesta and Colbert. It showed an image of what she they all recognized as a flintlock musket, part of the barrel cut away to show its inside.

"**In the early days of firearms, Muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of precision manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle, the musket ball was a loose fit in the barrel. Consequently, on firing the ball bounced off the sides of the barrel when fired and the final direction on leaving the muzzle was unpredictable."**

The image showed the musket firing a few times at a ringed target, not unlike those those used for practicing bow and arrows. More often than not, the musket-ball did not hit as intended at any target beyond the 140 meter range.

"That's true." Colbert nodded. "That's why you only rarely see a great deal of people using muskets. Few wants to invest in a clumsy weapon that most mages won't even consider as a threat."

"What if they were used by a lot people in groups, Professor?" Louise asked, making him shrug helplessly in return.

"I guess it _would_ be theoretically possible to cause a lot of damage that way, but it's much easier to just employ a few line mages instead. Attempts have been made over the years to replace the traditional infantry formations, but few want to invest in something new when there are things which already work well in battle." he explained.

"**What the Professor is saying is correct, Master."** Legion said, turning their attention to the screen again.

"**However, war was far more commonplace in my world than it appears to be here. And without magic to provide extra power, it forced the various to a great deal of experimentation in order to gain the upper hand in the arms-race for supremacy."**

To the confusion of all three, the image of a musket was instead replaced by that of a man holding an ordinary bow and arrow. He raised the bow, drew the string back and let an arrow fly and as it flew, time seemed to slow down and the image of it magnified until it filled the length of the screen.

"**The concept of stabilizing the flight of a projectile by spinning it has been known since mankind first mastered the use of bow and arrow. To achieve this, the tail end is fitted with three fins, often crafted from bird feathers, set at a certain angle to force it to rotate by air resistance."**

They all marveled for a few moments at the high definition image of the arrow in flight, something that none of them and few other in their world had ever seen. It span slowly, almost lazily so, drawing their attention towards the tail fins as they rotated, looking almost wave-like in a way.

Louise raised an eyebrow after a few moments however. "Anyone who's ever talked to a fletcher or any archer worth his salary know this, Legion." she stated, not understanding why her familiar was showing them this. "As beautiful as it is to watch, I don't see what it has to do with how bullets are fired."

But Colbert understood, slapping his fist into the palm of his hand as the sight of the spinning arrow struck him with an epiphany. "Because its the same principle! Isn't it?"

"**Bullets were not arrows however, and thus a different system was required to impart rotation upon the lead projectile. This system eventually became known as rifling."**

The image changed again, becoming that of the musket once more but with one important difference. The cut-out now revealed that instead of being completely smooth, the inside of the barrel now had a spiraling pattern cut along its entire length.

"**Rifling refers to helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis. This spin serves to gyroscopically stabilize the projectile, improving its aerodynamic stability and accuracy."**

The image zoomed back out so that the entire musket could be seen again, and the bullet was put into the barrel and fired. This time, the weapon was considerably more accurate, hitting the bullseye all the way out to the 460 meter range.

"Wow, that's more than twice the range it had before." Louise observed with her eyebrows raised. "I'd say that's a pretty significant improvement, right there."

"**It also became increasingly obvious that as the firing systems became more advanced, the same thing was needed for the ammunition. Even though the rifling gave the traditional ball-shape a considerable boost in both speed and accuracy, there were still some issues that required further development. The greatest issue was that in order for the bullet to seal tightly enough for it to be effectively fired without the gasses escaping, it needed to be literally hammered down into the barrel."**

Louise winced a little at this. It was a far cry from the smooth operation of the effective weapons of her Militants. "I can't imagine that to have been very effective in battle."

"**It was not, Master. Due to this fact, firearms did not have any true advantages over the traditional bow and arrow for over two centuries."**

"So what changed?" Siesta asked curiously, having been following this with some interest. She was normally not one to care much about weapons and warfare, but this was something so different from what she'd ever heard of that she couldn't help but be a _little_ fascinated by it.

In response, the image switched to show a bullet that instead of being completely round, now had a conical-cylindrical shape with three grooves cut into it at the base which continued all the way around the body. These were filled with grease of some kind and it had a shallow, conical hollow in its back end.

"**This is what is known as the Minié ball, developed by French Army Captains Claude-Étienne Minié and Henri-Gustave Delvigne in 1847. It was slightly smaller than the standard bore of a rifle and could therefore be pushed down far more easily than the previous bullets. When the rifle was fired, the expanding gas pushed forcibly on the base of the bullet, deforming it to engage the rifling. This significantly improved the way it sealed against the barrel, improving its ballistics both in terms of range and accuracy."**

"Absolutely incredible." Colbert muttered, torn with himself over these advancements from another world. On one hand they were practically groundbreaking, but on the other hand they were used to kill people, which did not sit right at all with the Professor who above all wished for peace. "If only these men had used their genius for more peaceful endeavors."

"**There have been many of these as well, Professor. But they are far too numerous for me to tell you about them at this time."**

"Yes, I understand." he nodded, straightening slightly from his slumped position he'd assumed as Legion explained how their weapons worked. "Please continue."

"**Although many minor adjustments have been made since those times, the Minié ball have remained the basis of ballistic weapons ever since. Its successful combination with the concept of rifling considered to be one of mankind's greatest wartime achievements. The term 'rifled gun' soon gave way to 'rifle', which all long-barrel weapons of similar type has been called since."**

"**This concludes the explanation on the subject.****" **The screen became blank once more, and the three moved back towards the center of the room.

"I guess it does make quite a bit of sense to call them rifles" Louise admitted over the sound of Colbert writing it down in his journal, Siesta nodding with a thoughtful look on her face.

"It does, Lady Vallière. Although I honestly couldn't begin to imagine which one to pick." she said, looking over the various racks in the room.

"**The weapon I have intended for you does not use this type of ammunition system, however."**

"It doesn't? Then why did you just-" Louise stopped herself as she realized something. "Wait, it's because I asked, wasn't it?"

"**Correct, Master."**

Siesta giggled slightly as Louise sighed, her tongue poking out for a moment in irritation. "Right. So where is this weapon of mine, then?"

"**Rack number 5, Master. On the far left of the pistol section."**

It took her a moment of contemplation before she noticed that each rack were indeed numbered on the top right corner of each one. 1 and 2 were on the left, 3 and 4 on the right with 5 and 6 on the other side of the pipe. She let her eyes wander over the rows of hand guns before she arrived on the one he had intended, which at first glance didn't look much different from the others and she picked it up to take a closer look.

Most of the others were in simple L-shapes, but this one had the addition of a large block of sorts set in front of the trigger guard. She turned it over in her hand, noting that at the end of the barrel on both sides were a little triangle symbol etched into the metal and filled in with red. It was however not the Nod icon she'd become used to seeing, but just a triangle with rounded edges and a vertical bar with a dot below it.

"That's odd, what kind of weapon is this?" she asked in a puzzled tone and to Colbert's great horror, looked straight down the barrel while her thumb was over the trigger!

"Miss Vallière!" he snapped loudly, almost causing her to drop the pistol. "Never look down the barrel of a gun!"

"Ack!" she exclaimed in alarm, giving him a look of honest apology. "Sorry, Professor."

Colbert however wasn't very impressed with her sudden lack of self-preservation and forethought. Nor was he placated by her hurried apology and after shoving the container of Tiberium into Siesta's arms, quickly snatched the gun out of Louise's hand. "Honestly, miss Vallière! What if it had gone off in your face?" he lectured her in an irritated tone, mostly out of fear of her well-being than any real anger.

"B-but..." she stammered before hanging her head in shame. "...Yes, Professor."

"**The Professor is right, Master. Although that weapon has a safety mechanism far more reliable than an ordinary pistol, I must encourage you to treat any weapon as a lethal hazard."**

As Louise nodded silently, Colbert took a moment to study it himself although he was careful not to look down the barrel. "Miss Vallière does bring up a good question, what kind of weapon is this?"

"**A laser pistol, Professor."**

While both Siesta and Louise, who had since raised her head again, looked confused yet again, he knew what to ask. "Define laser."

"**Short for Light Amplified by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, a laser is a coherent beam of light radiation. It is created by refining ordinary light by passing it between a set of special mirrors and a type of beam medium, typically a crystal. Through this, it reaches sufficient energy content to cause significant damage exceeding most traditional handguns, yet without recoil."**

Colbert massaged his brow with his free hand as he deftly held the pistol out of reach of Louise, who was trying to reach for it not unlike a child going after a piece of candy. The sheer amount of information was getting too much even for him´and he could feel yet another headache coming on.

The other two didn't seem to be too worse to wear, Siesta content to watch their antics with an amused smile and Louise seemed to want the weapon simply because it was hers. But he, he _understood_ what this meant, what this weapon was capable of.

Any child knew the simple concepts of that you could not catch your own shadow, that sunlight was warm. Lens technology (however primitive by Legion's standards, he was sure) had been around for a few hundred years now, evident in Colbert's own glasses, and a convex lens could be use to focus it to start a fire. A simple experiment he had preformed himself many times over the years, and had more than once been forced to yell at some students for using his lenses to burn ants and other insects.

"I'm sorry miss Vallière." he said to the young woman who had given up on trying to reach the pistol and was instead giving him an irritated look. "I can't give this weapon to you."

"What!? Why not?" she demanded to know, tightening her hands into fists as she glared at her professor who _didn't look sorry at all!_ "It's a gift to me by my own familiar!"

"**Although you were right to correct her previous action, I must object to this action as well."**

"No." he said sternly, conviction in his voice as he matched Louise's glare with one of his own. "I'm doing this for your own good! I cannot with good conscience let you have a weapon that reduces people into insects!"

"But- wait, what?" she began to retort, but paused in confusion at his choice of words. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Colbert blinked as he received two stares, one just confused and another both confused _and_ irritated. Dammit, he let his brain run off with his tongue again! "Er, that is..." he faltered slightly, stilling when Legion spoke up once more.

"**While the comparison is indeed an apt one, the weapon you are now holding is the only one within the current arsenal that the Master can wield without issue. She has already been caught in a situation where the lack of a functioning weapon could have spelled her demise."**

"I..." he tried and then made a pained grimace, unable to find a suitable response to this. He understood full and well the necessity of a good weapon, but it tore at his heart that one of his students would carry such a weapon. "It's too powerful!" he tried once more.

"**If it is the energy output that worries you, this model does feature an adjustable power setting. At its lowest possible setting, it would not have the power to cause any injury more severe than a light burn."**

Colbert bit his lip as even though Louise was not one to beg for things, the pleading look she gave him was just too much. "I, very well..." he finally agreed. "But only on the condition that you let me test it first, miss Vallière." he added when he saw her mouth turning up slightly.

"I guess that's acceptable." she smiled, happy at having a victory no matter how small

"In the meantime, I did get you a sword, miss Vallière. A _magical_ sword." he reminded her, stressing the word as he tucked the pistol under his belt.

"A magical sword that insults me." she replied, her smile once more turning into a frown as he reminded her of that irritating weapon.

"It'll have to do for now, miss Vallière." he sighed. "I doubt you'll be going into battle soon anyway, why don't you allow Legion to outfit you with the armor he talked about instead?"

Louise blinked at this, having completely forgotten all about it in the commotion over the room stuffed with lethal implements of death. "Oh, that's right. I'd totally forgotten about that."

Prompted by this, what they had all assumed was simply a pipe of some kind suddenly split down the middle about ¼ of the way down from the ceiling, the two halves parting to reveal an alcove of some kind. The sudden movement made Louise almost jumped out of her skin as the mechanical _ssssshhhhh-THUNK_ went off right next to her, and she made no effort to conceal it.

Once she got her heart rate down to reasonably levels, anyway.

"H-hey! Warn me the next time you do something like that" she shouted irritably at the ceiling while Colbert and Siesta leaned in curiously to take a look inside. "I almost had a heart attack!"

On the inside, it was shaped more like a semicircle with a flat wall in the back and made entirely from textured metal, bare except for a pair of orange footprints painted on the floor and a green light in an arch roughly behind where a person's head would be. When they peered up into the space above it, they saw a large number of shape resting in the ceiling, although none of them could hope to guess what their exact purpose were.

"**Your armor has not yet been fitted, Master. You need to enter the fitting station in order for me to mold it to your exact specifications."**

"Ah, I.. um.. I see." she said a little hesitantly as she moved around the tube to join the other two in examining its insides. "So I just... step into it?"

The other two took a few steps away from the newly named fitting station as Louise braced herself on each side as she prepared to go inside.

"**Yes Master. Please be advised that your current attire will not survive the process, if you enter without removing it."**

Louise froze mid-step. "Wait, what?"

"A suit of armor needs to be properly fitted just like any other type of clothing, miss Vallière." Colbert interjected helpfully to try and stem her growing look of horror, although he was being less successfully than he hoped. "Even moreso for someone important!"

"_What?"_ she repeated again, her voice one octave higher than before.

* * *

In the end, Louise agreed to do as Legion suggested. It was just her school uniform true, but if it was destroyed it would come out of her own pocket, _and she ruined enough of them as it was!_

It wasn't the first time she'd been fitted for something, but she still very nearly started going for her wand Siesta hesitantly asked if she wished for assistance, and Colbert thought it best to drag her outside and into the corridor they came from before any accidents happened. Louise made it _exceedingly_ clear that if either one of them looked in on her while she was changing, there would be hell to pay for both of them!

"Do I... have to remove my panties as well?" she muttered self-consciously as she placed her neatly folded blouse on top of her skirt on one of the racks.

"**No Master, your choice of underwear does not appear that it will inhibit the process. Once you are ready, place your feet inside the appointed locations with your back against the wall."**

Louise nodded and after making sure neither the maid nor the Professor was peeking in through the transparent door, she quickly got into the machine while keeping both arms crossed over her chest to protect her modesty. Although it was fairly warm in there, she still shivered as her bare feet touched the cold metal plating of the floor section, only pausing to make sure that her feet were indeed on the orange footprints.

"Now what?" she tried to ask, but it instead came out as a yelp as she was suddenly pulled against the cold metal wall by an unseen force. Her hands whipped down as well to rest just above her hips, and she just barely had time to feel embarrassed at her developing chest was put on display before the doors closed with a loud _clunk_ of metal against metal.

Not that she wasn't claustrophobic or anything like that, but she couldn't help it as her heart rate spiked as she stood there in the dark. "Uh, Legion?" she asked, her voice echoing in the small hollow space. "I can't move."

"**Those are the gravitational restraints you are feeling, Master. They were put in place to prevent injury from moving during the fitting process."** his voice came, reassuring her slightly as a gridwork of glowing red lines descended from the quickly with an audible hum of power as it quickly slid down her body.

"What's that doing?" Louise asked, a small bit of panic entering her voice. "I don't like this at all, Legion!" What had she gotten herself into?

"**It is only a laser-measuring device, Master."**

"L-l-lasers? Like the pistol!?" she gulped, wincing and screwing her eyes shut as the many crimson beams passed over her unprotected face.

"**Do not worry, Master. Although the way they are created are indeed similar in nature, these lasers have only a fraction of the power of ordinary light and will not harm you."**

She nodded quietly and waited until it had passed back over her head before she breathed a sigh of relief. "C-couldn't you just have used a regular measuring tape or something?"

"**That would only have given me the rough circumference of a handful of areas, Master. Preforming the measurements in this manner enables the systems to accurately gauge the shape of your body, a critical necessity in order to achieve an optimal fit corresponding to the skeletal and muscular structure of your specific anatomy."**

"O-okay." she took a deep breath and let it out in order to calm herself. "That wasn't so bad I suppose. You can release me now, right?" she asked hopefully.

"**No Master." **her heart sank, those were _not_ the words she wanted to her. **"Vital systems initialization complete, stand by for phase one."**

Outside the door to the Armory, Colbert and Siesta had stood quietly as she heard Louise's and Legion's conversation through their comlinks. The Professor was holding the container of precious Tiberium once more, and both looked up at the ceiling as they heard some form of machinery spooling up. This was followed by the sound of a high-pressure nozzle and accompanied by Louise's sounds of discomfort.

"_H-hey! What's this stuff you're spraying on me? Ow! Hot!"_

"_Is it supposed to be this sticky!? Ack! It's setting! It's setting!"_

They could also hear the whirr and hissing of machinery coming from both inside the room and around them as Legion pulled materials from other sections of the Construction Yard. Even with their stores of Tiberium as low as it was, there were still stores of more conventional resources for just this kind of thing.

"Is... is Lady Vallière going to be okay?" Siesta asked, quite worried from the sounds that was filtering through to them both from the room beyond the door and through their comlinks.

"I don't know." Colbert admitted, also a little bit uneasy by the unfamiliar process which Louise was now in the middle of.

Both of them jumped as a loud noise that was both that of something impacting with considerable force, combined with an angry hissing noise echoed through the corridor before repeating again and again.

Unbeknownst to either of them, this was the sound of hydraulic presses exerting forces of well over a thousand tons per square inch in order to form the ceramic trauma plates intended for the armor. These were made primarily out of Boron Carbide, an extremely hard type of metallic ceramic that outpaced nearly all other non-Tiberium based materials shy of diamond when it came to hardness and resilience. As they were lacking in resources at the moment, a lot of the materials and technologies used in modern armor technology developed after the Second Tiberium War was unavailable to them. Legion vowed to make sure the Prophet was better outfitted once they had access to those technologies, but this would do for now.

Each piece was pressed in three to four layers using a type of modular-die technology perfected by Nod for quick material processing, as each minute became vital when you were in a state of extended all-out war. Sandwiched between these layers were numerous sheets of a high-strength polymer to add a measure of flexibility to them, ensuring that even if they cracked they still would not break.

This could be considered to be _severe overkill_ for a medieval world where people killed each other with swords and bows, but with magic as an unknown factor Legion wasn't going to take any form of chances when it came to his master. Humans were fragile and sensitive creatures, he knew, and the suit of armor he was currently in the middle of making for her would be a bring her resilience factor up from 'Squishy' to an acceptable level of 'Okay'.

"I do not believe Legion will hurt her, but..." Colbert said loudly over the din but trailed off as Louise's voice came once more.

"_Argh! Ouch! Those pieces are hot! Couldn't you have cooled them off first?"_

"_Ow! Did you really need to put one _there_ of all places!?"_

"**Apologies, Master. The compression cycle for each piece requires thermal bonding to be effective, do you wish me to lower the temperature in the booth?"**

"_Yes! Do it now!"_

"**Acknowledged. Initializing coolant cycle, stand by."**

"She doesn't sound happy about it at all." Siesta observed, her and Colbert looking up as there was a hissing noise through several of the pipes above them, Louise's voice suddenly coming through again in a drawn-out gasp. Much like someone who'd just gotten a bucket of cold water dumped on them.

"_T-to cold, Legion! Too cold! I'm freezing my butt off in here!"_

"**It appears I miscalculated the required values, Master. Please bear with it for a moment longer, the larger pieces are nearly finished."**

_KA-THUNK-THUNK! HISS!_

"_Ah! Oooh... mmm. Much better! Warm..."_

Most of her complaints ceased at that point and they both stood quietly for another half minute or so as they listened carefully to the machinery spinning down once more, soon fading down to what it had been before. Colbert and Siesta both shared a look when all had gone quiet, leaning in to peek through the transparent door and into the room beyond.

The doors of the fitting station slid open and a great deal of white smoke billowed out, only to be sucked away by air vents in the floor around it. They entered the armory once more just as the smoke cleared enough for them to actually get a look at Louise and her new suit of armor.

It looked very much like the armor worn by Louise's Militants, although there were a few features that stood out as different. She wore no helmet for one, and the armor began from the neck down with a flexible, turtleneck-like collar which then transitioned to the smooth underlayer of her armor.

The greatest difference however was that while the Militants were all modeled after men, this one was very obviously _feminine_ in its design. It had a very utilitarian look to it that a person from a more developed world would recognize as mass-produced, but to them it was a marvel in the close and precise way it fit on her. Any armor-smith tasked with making armor for a noble would put some form of artistic flair to an armor to enhance some features and hide others, but this suit was made to simply offer protection and thus did neither.

She was without even the shadow of a doubt covered completely, but it was very... shall we say, form-fitting.

Her entire body was covered in the same material in what was essentially a black bodyglove that also covered her hands, as well. On top of it were matte-black plates of armor that looked no more than a few millimeters in thickness, bypassing the need for overlapping so common in ordinary armor by the fact that every piece fit together _perfectly,_ not unlike a jigsaw puzzle. All joints were thus covered in a myriad of interlocking plates of varying shapes and sizes, larger ones covering critical spots like her chest, back and sides. An armored codpiece of sorts protected her lady bits and smaller plates extended out to the back of her hands and fingers, with her feet encased in what was either armored boots or light sabatons, held together in the back by a row of clasps.

Only the inside of her thighs and biceps were without plating, but they were instead covered in a gray material in a repeating hexagonal pattern. None of them yet understood the concept of a ballistic nano-armor weave, but there was no doubt in their minds that it too was protection of some sort.

Naturally, it also had the symbol of Nod etched right above the heart and filled in with bright red ink.

Louise had her eyes screwed shut for a few moments even after the process was finished, slowly opening her eyes and blinking away a few tears as she saw the other two staring at her. She was a little confused why the Professor was averting his eyes from her, but a look at Siesta who was holding both hands to her mouth and blushing slightly told her something was off.

"**Releasing safe-guards."**

Louise made a startled noise as the force that had kept her immobile was suddenly gone, sending her stumbling forward in a graceless half-skip. Before either of the other two had a chance to help her, her foot caught on the lip of the fitting station sending her crashing to the floor at their feet.

"Lady Vallière!" "Miss Louise!" the maid and the Professor exclaimed at the same time and the maid hurried to help her up from the floor.

Louise let out a small "Ow." as she was helped to her feet once more, touching her gloved fingertips to her cheek where she hit herself against the floor. "That smarts."

"Are you alright, Lady Vallière?" Siesta asked her worriedly, earning a nod from the Noble as she worked her jaw carefully.

"I think so."

"Well, uh..." Colbert trailed off as he coughed into his fist. "That's some armor you have there, it's a bit... thinner than I imagined."

"Eh?" Louise blinked before looking down at herself, her facing heating up as she saw just how form fitting in was. "EEHH?!" she shouted in alarm and with one hand covering her groin and the other slapping over her armored chest, she jumped around in a quick circle before dashing over to hide behind one of the racks.

"_Legion!"_ she shrieked in both horror and embarrassment, making both of the others wince at the sheer volume of it. _"What the hell! This barely covers me at all!"_

"**I fear that I do not understand this statement, Master. None of my scans show any exposed vital areas, it should offer sufficient protection all around."**

"_That's not what I meant, you damn perverted familiar!"_ she shouted, blindly reaching around the corner to try and grab her school uniform. As Siesta hurried over to help her, Colbert did his best to try and explain to the A.I. why she was so displeased while keeping his back to the young woman.

"I think what miss Vallière is trying to tell you is that it's... extremely form fitting." he said slowly, unsure how he would even explain the concept of modesty to what was basically a bodiless entity. He knew that beings such as elemental spirits often had similar issues, unable to understand why their summoners often expressed anger when they took their shapes to communicate with them.

"**The armor cannot safely disperse the kinetic energy in a strike, nor distribute its weight properly unless it is sealed firmly against the body. This also minimizes the chances of striking in such a way that it bypasses the armored plates, which has often been an issue in older types of armor."**

"Well, yes. But..." behind him, Colbert heard Louise complain to Siesta that the added volume of the armor, even though it was possibly the slimmest one he'd ever seen, made it hard to get into her clothes. "Young humans, especially girls, tend to be very sensitive about their bodies." he said slowly.

"**I am familiar with the concept of modesty Professor, but I must admit that I find it most puzzling that the Master reacted in such a fashion. The shape of the armor has never been an issue before."**

"Hmm." he said stroking his chin for a moment. "This was a military organization, was it not?"

"**Paramilitary, but essentially yes."**

Colbert sighed, it seemed that some things were the same no matter the world. "It's very common for soldiers to lose their sense of modesty. It doesn't really do very much for you when you're trying hard just to survive, after all." he folded his arms. "Miss Vallière on the other hand has never had that kind of training. She isn't a soldier, Legion."

A few moments passed and he heard several angry and embarrassed mutterings behind him, but tried not to pay too much attention to them. It was bad enough that he was in the same room as a poorly-dressed student, he wasn't _that_ kind of Professor!

"**Acknowledged. What would you suggest as appropriate, Professor?"**

Colbert thought for just a moment, the well-oiled gears of his academic mind turning as he went over everything he'd seen knights wear. Coming to a decision, he started describing what he had in mind.

* * *

A _Surcoat_ was a type of garment that had become increasingly popular over the past couple centuries in Tristain. They were long, loose and often sleeveless coats that usually extended to about midcalf and had slits in bottom front and back, thus allowing the wearer to ride comfortably. Their main purpose was to reflect the sun to keep the wearer from overheating in the strong summer sun, as well as to keep rain and the muck of battle away from the easily corroded metal armor.

Of course, since Louise's armor _wasn't made from metal_ rust wasn't an issue, but the general idea was the same.

Much like a uniform, the surcoat was also used to identify the wearer as belonging to a specific group and was widely used by both the crown and aristocracy. Each of the Royal Mage Knight corps had their own specific colors, things like regiment and unit sown on the upper left. Right on top of the Royal flag of Tristain.

The Manticore Knights were a deep crimson, the Griffin Knights blue and the Dragon Knights green.

Purple was the color of Royalty and thus only the Palace Guards were allowed to wear it, and it was considered a sign of great honor to be allowed to wear it.

The surcoat that Legion had fashioned for Louise was neither one of these colors but the same hexagonal-pattern gray that reinforced the inner sections of her suit. But as she was not a mounted knight, it was instead slit up each side up to her mid-thigh for mobility. The two flaps which extended down her front and back both ended in a rounded square-shape that perfectly matched the pattern, which she had to admit didn't look half bad.

Louise took a moment to smooth the almost silk-like material down over her front with both hands, making sure that she was fully covered this time. Damn her stupid familiar! He'd shown such professionalism until this point that she'd let her guard down, and then he went and did something like this!

"Are you decent, miss Vallière?" Colbert asked from the other side of the gun rack she was still hiding behind, jolting her out of her thoughts.

"Ah, yes!" she responded before taking a deep breath and stepping out from behind it, her hands anxiously balled over her stomach.

She felt _very_ self-conscious after the fiasco only scant minutes earlier, but was relieved when the Professor had been able to come up with a solution as fast as he had. He nodded appreciatively at her new look, making her feel a little better as he didn't look away in embarrassment this time.

"It suits you, Lady Vallière." Siesta said supportively from where she was standing off to the side, holding her school uniform.

"T-thanks." Louise smiled faintly. "I wish he'd put this on me from the start."

"Is it heavy?" Siesta asked curiously, now that the embarrassing moment had passed, leaning her head to the side as she studied the plating covering her arms. "The armor, I mean?"

"Hmm." Louise flexed her arm experimentally, narrowing her brows slightly as she contemplated the question. She actually hadn't thought much about it between her embarrassment and getting the surcoat on, but it actually hadn't made the action that much harder.

"Well, it's hardly weightless," she confessed a few a few moments. "but it's actually a lot less heavy than it looks, oddly enough."

"I don't know, it does look awfully thin, miss Vallière." Colbert commented in a slightly worried tone, comparing it to the much thicker armor worn by her Militants. He'd estimate that the plates on their suits were maybe half a centimeter thick, the ones of Louise's suit no more than a fourth of that "Metal plate armor of that thickness would perhaps protect you from someone with a knife, but nothing bigger."

"**The ceramic-composite armor plates that the Master's suit is equipped with are considerably stronger than any known metal or alloy. I must apologize however, as I did not have sufficient materials to construct a suit worthy of the Prophet."**

"Really, Sir Legion?" Siesta blinked. "It looks perfectly fine to me, especially if it's as tough as you say."

"Yes, well." Colbert muttered even as Louise started pacing back and forth in the room. "They're just so thin looking, if she's going to wear armor I'd feel a lot safer knowing that it could actually protect her."

They all looked up at the ceiling for a moment as they heard machinery humming for a few seconds and then the doors of the fitting station opened once more, a single black plate held in a mechanical manipulator arm. The Professor looked a little unsure for a moment before he took it, after which the arm retracted and the doors closed.

Turning it over in his hands, Colbert found that while it was roughly the same thickness as the ones that Louise was wearing, it was shaped a lot differently. It was made in a rough pentagon, little more than a square with the top corners removed, curved slightly inward as if to better follow the shape of the body. It was indeed very light compared to its size, but he was a little confused as he hadn't heard any of the production machinery start up like it had before.

"What's this from?"

"**This is an insert plate for upper arm section of a standard Nod ballistic vest. It's the mass-produced equivalent of what the Master is currently equipped with and while still suitable for protection purposes, is inferior compared to what she is wearing."**

The two girls watched as the Professor first tried bending it between his hands, then over his knee and finally dropped it on the ground and jumped on it a few times. None of these actions having any visible effect on the tough ceramic it was made of.

"I'm... impressed." he had to finally admit after picking it up from the floor. "It _does_ seem to preform as intended. Would it be alright if I brought this with me for further study?" he asked, turning to Louise who was watching him with a slightly amused expression on her face.

"Go ahead, Professor." she shrugged. "I'm sure Legion keeps a few in storage anyway."

Anything else they were going to say was put to a halt as almost at the same time, their stomachs growled in reminder of the fact that none of them had eaten anything since lunch.

"Ah, I guess it's time for dinner!" Siesta giggled.

* * *

Dinner was a largely uneventful affair, made slightly more enjoyable by the advanced culinary technology of the Nod Mess Hall. You couldn't exactly pack a 5-star dinner into a basket, but it was still good and enough that all three had more than enough to fill their bellies.

Normally, maids would never eat at the same table (or even at the same time) as the Nobles, and Siesta had at first served them and then stood nearby as she usually did. It was only due to Colbert's insistence that she eat with them that she even considered sitting down with them like she did, as he was a humble man who didn't felt the social differences mattered as much as most other Nobles did. Louise herself just went along with the Professor, honestly not having even thought about it until he'd suggested it, but really didn't mind it much. Siesta had proven herself already in her eyes and the three spent most of the evening in pleasant companionship, discussing the many wonders of Nod that Legion had showed them in a single day.

The sun was low in the sky by the time they exited the Construction Yard. Kirche and Tabitha had long since left so they prepared to make the trip back when Legion suddenly spoke up.

"**Master, before you leave, I will remind you that the construction of the Tiberium Refinery is complete and awaits placement."**

"Hm?" Louise frowned a little as the other two turned to look at her questioningly. "I don't remember hearing you telling me it was complete, Legion."

"**It completed while you were in the fitting booth, Master."**

"It _was_ producing quite a lot of noise, she probably didn't hear you." Colbert reminded him, earning a thankful look from Louise for helping skip over that rather embarrassing moment.

"**Acknowledged."**

"Well, I guess I'll see if I have one of those dreams again tonight." she groaned slightly. "I hate how I never seem to get much rest during those things."

As Siesta tilted her head in confusion, Colbert couldn't help but ask the question. "You somehow place these buildings in your dreams, miss Vallière?"

"Somehow, yes." she replied. "Legion told me at point that they are normally placed while in something he calls "Tactical View"." she explained, making little air-quotes with her fingers. "Whatever that means."

The Professor rubbed his chin for a moment. "I can't say I understand it either, but that is true for a lot of things about your familiar. Have you tried using the 'I see, I hear' spell yet?"

Louise blinked and then smacked herself in the forehead with her palm, feeling plain stupid for having forgotten about it. That was one of the most basic familiar-related spells that was right in the first chapter of almost every book she read on the subject. It made it so that a mage could see and hear the same thing that their familiar did, making it quite popular as a way to spy on others provided you had a familiar suited for the task.

"I can't believe I forgot about that spell! No I haven't, Professor." she said apologetically.

Colbert chuckled in good nature at her look of exasperation. "It's alright miss Vallière, there's no harm done. Do you want to try it right now?"

She nodded and took out her wand from where she kept in her clothes, now carried in the empty picnic basket that Siesta carried. Holding her wand out in front of her, she carefully pronounced the spell. _"I see, I hear."_

She just didn't expect the change in perspective to be so incredibly _different_ from what she normally saw.

Once more she was far, far above the ground like an eagle in flight, yet steady as if she had simply grown to an immense size. Louise looked around in wonder at the vast landscape around her, she could see for miles from this height! Turning around she beheld the Academy in its full splendor, much like she had before yet without the fog of dreaming.

Oh sure she had a similar view when she flew on Tabitha's dragon a couple hours earlier, but somehow this was even more grand. Right down below her she could see Siesta, Professor Colbert and... herself.

She was lying on the ground, looking for all intents and purposes as a doll with its strings cut and Colbert was knelt next to her, holding her up with an arm around her shoulders while shouting something at her. That was very strange, why was he being so agitated? It wasn't like she was dead or anything, there was no reason for him to raise his arm like that as if to-

_Slap!_

Louise took a deep breath from suddenly screaming lungs as she blinked the tears out of her eyes, barely seeing the concerned face of her Professor through all the black spots in her vision.

"-eathe, miss Vallière! Breathe!" she heard him shout as if far away and only after several, almost panicked breaths did the world come into focus once more. She was half lying-half sitting on the hard ground, held up only by Colbert with Siesta hovering nearby with a combined look of fear and horror on her face. Her cheek stung slightly and there was an odd ache in her right arm and shoulder, making her wince as she reached up to put her hand against her cheek. Dimly, she registered the fact that her fingertips were also tingling like they'd fallen asleep, although that feeling was quickly fading away to normal.

"Oh thank Brimir." Colbert said, relief clear on his face as Louise sat up on her own, still holding her cheek with a bewildered look on her face. "I almost thought that you died there for a moment!"

"Urgh, I don't feel so good." she groaned as awareness suddenly hit her full force, accompanied by a headache and its good friend nausea. "What happened?"

"Y-you cast the spell, and then you just collapsed!" Siesta said in a hurried voice, tinged with worry. "Even when we called out to you and shook you, you just kept staring blankly into the sky."

Well, that explained the pain in her arm and shoulder she supposed. "But I was only up there for a few seconds at most." she said in confusion.

"Miss Vallière." Colbert said slowly, making her turn her head to look at him to see the stern expression on his face. "You were practically dead to the world for almost ten minutes, you weren't even _breathing_ for the last minute or so. You didn't react to us calling your name or even when we shook you, if the slap hadn't awoken you I don't know what I would've done this far from the Infirmary."

"That.. I.. what?" she blinked owlishly. "But that's impossible!" she exclaimed, hissing slightly as it caused a fresh jolt of pain to go through her head and making her press the heel of her palm against her forehead.

"It's my fault, miss Vallière." Colbert admitted, regret clear in his voice. "I should never have suggested that you try that spell without preparation, I'm very sorry for this."

Louise took a few gulps of water from a glass handed to her by a still very worried Siesta before letting out a sigh through her nose. "It's alright Professor, you couldn't have known. At least I succeeded on my first try?" she said with a thin smile. "I could see the entire area down from above!"

"Yes indeed." Colbert replied with a frown. "But in doing so it seems it caused some sort of overload to your mind, shutting down almost your entire body in the process. I can only assume that it was only ever meant to be used on simple animals and their magic equivalents, not beings as impossibly sophisticated as Legion is." he theorized.

Louise nodded thoughtfully "That may be Professor, but I'd still like to try it one more time." she said, a firm look of determination on her face.

Colbert looked at her for a few moment before letting out a small sigh. "I guess there's no sense of arguing with you if you are that determined miss Vallière, but I must insist on doing it in a safe location." he stressed as he helped her up. "Legion." he said a little louder. "Is there a good place where she can receive care if this goes wrong?"

* * *

The Nod equivalent of an Infirmary was actually rather similar to the one they had at the Academy, yet different at the same time.

They had first entered into a large room, about twice as long as it was wide, with rows of strange-looking beds lining the walls separated by small bedside tables. Above them were rows of tall, gothic windows with the symbol of Nod in stained glass, allowing the evening sunlight to stream in from the outside. More useful light was supplied from glowing strips hanging from the ceiling, eliminating almost all shadows from the room.

This was not their stop however, urged onwards by Legion's voice, they instead found themselves in a hallway which connected to a series of smaller rooms. After all, Louise was the _Prophet_ and would not be forced to use the beds of common soldiers when there were other alternatives readily available.

Louise thus soon found herself lying in a strange but rather comfortable hospital bed that could be raised in order to sit comfortably without the need for a pile of pillows. One of her Militants had been waiting for her and while Colbert and Siesta waited outside, quickly and efficiently helped her out of her armor and into what was basically a long tunic not unlike her nightwear.

It had surprised her how _easy_ it actually was to remove. The boots came off after undoing the back latches and the chest plate was held in place by some manner of locking mechanism she didn't fully understand, but once released revealed a small button just below her collarbone. Once pressed it somehow instructed the undersuit to go from a perfect fit to hanging off her frame, which could then be opened in the front and allow her to just shrug it off her shoulders and step out of it.

When the others came back in, Colbert had to visibly restrain himself from examining the bed and the curious set of spindly, metal arms that were retracted into the wall above it. Instead he sat down in a chair next to the bed, Louise's wand in hand as Siesta remained standing next to him.

"Alright, miss Vallière." Colbert said as he handed her wand back to her. "Before you attempt the spell again, take a moment to focus on your breathing and where you are." he instructed her in a calm voice. "That should help you anchor yourself and avoid getting lost in the spell like last time."

Louise nodded and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she held her wand in both hands. She memorized the scents around her, the feel of the cloth against her skin, the piece of wood in her hands and the ambient hum of _technology_ around her.

"_I see, I hear."_ she whispered. And when the view of the inside of her eyelids was replaced with a birds-eye view of being above a world that seemed so much smaller, she was ready for it.

Even then it was _very_ difficult for her to maintain her grasp on the present. The freedom and _power_ she felt in the other point of view was like a seductive siren's song, begging her to let go of everything and be one with the sky.

With a forceful wrench she pulled herself back to her body, panting like she'd just run a lap around the whole academy with a backpack filled with rocks on her back. She could feel sweat beading on her forehead and her hands were sticky against each other and her wand, gratefully accepting the cup of water that Colbert handed her.

"Deep breaths, miss Vallière." Colbert told her as she fought to get her breathing under control.

"How.. how long was I away for?" she asked after she'd had a few moments to catch her breath and wipe her forehead with a piece of soft cloth handed to her by Siesta.

"**13 minutes, 28 seconds Master."**

Louise blew out a long breath. "It felt like only a few moments." she admitted. "Preforming the spell is taxing like nothing I've ever done before."

Colbert nodded thoughtfully. "It will most likely get easier with time, although I'm quite curious as to why you seem to be experiencing such a shift in time. Do you wish to stop now, or keep going?"

She pondered this for a moment before nodding and wiping her hands on the sheets covering her legs before gripping her wand again. "One more time."

This time it felt like she struggled for hours before finally finding some form of equilibrium between what was _here_ and what was _there_. It was like trying to balance standing on top of a stone sphere on a flat surface while simultaneously balancing a book on your head; doable but _difficult._

Finally, she managed to come to the point where she was still and when she did, Legion's voice came to her, clear and true.

"**Master, you appear to have managed to establish a very rudimentary form of Battlefield Control. It is severely limited compared to what it should be capable of, but it does appear that it will allow you to place the building which I have prepared for you."**

She allowed herself to feel a tiny bit of elation over this fact, not wanting to let it to disturb her very tenuous hold that she'd managed to gain over it. Even now she could feel herself slowly slipping as slowly but surely, her reserves of willpower drained away into the spell.

"_What do you see, miss Vallière?"_ Colbert's voice came through to her, although it sounded sort of like he was speaking to her through a wall or possibly a pipe.

"I see my buildings and much of the surrounding lands." Louise whispered as she let her eyes roam over the image before her. Holding her hands out in front of her, she turned them over as in this form they looked... well, much like the dark metal that Nod seemed to enjoy using. Except more... organic, somehow.

It was a little disturbing, but nothing she couldn't ignore for the moment. However...

"I don't see any way to place the buildings like I did before." Louise frowned slightly. They'd just appeared in her hand before in her dreams, but things seemed to be a little different in the waking world.

"_I'm afraid I can't help you there, miss Vallière. This is so far beyond my normal expertise it's ridiculous."_ Colbert's voice came through, tinged with the same frustration that she felt.

"Grr..." she grit her teeth as she felt her willpower waning, she probably didn't have much time in here. "I wish there was some kind of menu or some-"

And as soon as she said the word _menu_, one appeared right before her eyes in the form of a large rectangle shape. In it were several selections, all of them grayed out and inaccessible except a single one on the upper left side. It was an oblong building with a strange prong-shape in the front, a pit filled with a fuming, green substance and a smokestack that gave off a stream of the same green vapor. Pipes ran from the body of the prong-shape and down into the pit, with additional ones in the back finally ending in a sphere of some kind. On it in bright green text it said _Tiberium Refinery_, although not in the standard Brimiric rune-font she was used to, yet she still understood what it said. Shrugging mentally, she just chalked it up with all the other oddities of Nod and tapped it with her index finger.

Immediately, she had the green wire-frame of it in her hand just like before and she smiled in victory. "I got it!"

"**Normally, these would be rotated to face the direction of the nearest source of Tiberium crystals. However, since we are going to plant one I advise that you make it face where you intend for it to be in the future."**

Nodding, she quickly looked over the area until she found a suitable, open spot for a field to be placed. A bead of sweat trail down the side of her face as she worked and with her tongue caught between her teeth, she carefully rotated the image so that the prong-shape was facing in that direction and set it down.

* * *

It had been over half an hour since Louise had gone back into the spell and Siesta was sitting on the other side of the bed that Louise was resting in. Professor Colbert had after some discussion with Legion gotten his hands on some kind of flat rectangle called a "tablet" which glowed seemingly from within with text and images. She didn't really understand half of what they were talking about and just tuned it out after a while.

So between responding to Louise's questions that were indeed few and far between he had spent all his time engrossed in this device. She on the other hand had to settle with examining the room they were in and occasionally wiping Louise's face with a thin, wet towel. Just like at the Academy they had water taps in the room itself so getting water for it had been easy, but it left her with very little to occupy herself with. Maybe she should ask Legion if she could have one of those tablets as well?

But this would have to wait, as no more than a second after the thought crossed her mind she and Colbert both jumped as there was a loud rumble from the outside, as if something enormous was forcing its way out of the ground. They looked at each other for a moment before they both ran over to the window of the room to look outside, just so happening to face the same direction as the sound was coming from.

"What in the world?" Siesta exclaimed as the gray pavement cracked and broke as pillars of the same material rose up from the ground.

They were soon followed by a combination of arcs of dark metal connecting them and lengths of piping that shot straight up in the air before curving downwards like fingers, connecting to other parts of the building. It was then followed by a swell of liquid metal that rapidly flowed up the structure, filling in gaps and leaving behind smooth armor in the style favored by Nod. They could only watch in awe as the Tiberium Refinery built itself seemingly from nothing right before their eyes, the entire process taking only a handful of seconds.

Both of them couldn't help but stare blankly at the newly constructed building for a few moments before looking back at Louise, just in time for her to take a deep breath as she returned to her body. Colbert was just about to ask if she was alright when her eyes suddenly rolled back in her head, her wand dropped into her lap from suddenly slack fingers.

Then she left out a soft snore and they both sagged in relief, having feared at first that her heart had given out on her or something.

"It appears that she finally wore herself out." Colbert noted as they walked back to her bedside and he picked up her wand and placed it on the bedside table. "It's lucky that she was already in bed, good call Legion."

"**Luck had nothing to do with it, Professor. When it was becoming apparent that the spell was taking a heavy toll on the Master, I instructed you to take her to the medical bay in case that she succumbed to exhaustion. This would also allow me to monitor her efficiently and take immediate action should she suffer respiratory failure once more."**

"You really did think of everything." Siesta blinked before smiling. "You care for her very much, don't you Sir Legion?"

"**I exist for the sake of Nod and the Prophet, miss Siesta. One vision, one purpose."**

Colbert couldn't help but blink slightly at the phrase uttered with such conviction from the sapient machine, but found that he really couldn't find a fault in it. He'd normally feel a little ill at ease if he'd heard it from anyone else, but you just couldn't apply ordinary rules in any form to anything regarding Louise's familiar. "You had her remove her armor for the same reason, didn't you?"

"**Yes, for ease of access to her vital areas if needed and for her comfort both."**

He nodded, knowing from own experience that while sleeping in armor was possible, it was hardly comfortable. "Well, she has the next few days off so there's no reason for her to be moved to the Academy tonight. Could you please ask her to visit me at my laboratory once she wakes up?"

"**Of course, Professor."**

"I can come by tomorrow with a fresh uniform for her." Siesta added. "I don't think she'll enjoy walking around school much in her armor. No offense, Sir Legion." she said with a small bow.

"**Acknowledged, but unnecessary."**

Siesta blinked, not having expected that. People usually didn't object to it when she offered to bring them clean clothes.

"**The Hand of Nod possesses dedicated fabric cleaning facilities in its sub-level, it would be no issue for me to have it processed and ready for her in the morning."**

"Oh, um..." she fumbled mentally with her words for a moment before nodding in a slightly awkward manner, holding out the basket to the Militant who until now had stood stationary next to the door.

"Well, she does appear to be in capable hands miss Siesta." Colbert said as the basket switched hands, starting to walk towards the exit. "Come on, let's head back to the Academy."

"Yes Professor."

* * *

Old Osmond looked up from the late-night paperwork he was going through as he heard a knock on the door and a moment later, Colbert stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Miss Longueville had already retreated to her room for the evening and he actually hadn't expected any more visits tonight.

"Ah, good evening Colbert." the elderly mage greeted him. "I was just wondering if you'd show up at all tonight!"

"It's been a long day, Headmaster." Colbert sighed as he walked over to a certain section of one of the bookcases, pushing in a specific book it swung a section around to reveal Osmond's secret liquor stash. Normally he would have just gone for a glass of wine, but he felt like he needed something stronger tonight. Once he had a glass filled two thirds with fine brandy he walked back to the desk sank down in his normal spot with a groan.

"I can see that." Osmond blinked, having not even been aware that anyone other than him knew where he kept his stash. "You must have quite the story to tell me, Professor."

Colbert nodded and took a generous sip from his glass, waiting for it to burn its way down his throat and pool in his stomach before he began telling him about all that had happened. It took him the better part of an hour and two more full glasses of brandy before he had finished recounting the day's events, laying out the laser pistol, comlink and the piece of ceramic armor on the desk while talking.

"There really does not seem to be any end to the wonders of Nod." Osmond reflected as he turned the laser pistol over in his hands, marveling at its impossibly precise craftsmanship. He doubted that not even he could make something with such precision, granted he wasn't exactly a specialist in the fine art of magical item crafting, but still.

Lowering his hands back to the desk, still holding the pistol, he looked across it to the balding Professor on the other side. "And what about the Tiberium?"

"Left it in my lab." Colbert nodded. "I didn't want to carry it around any more than I really had to."

"Smart man." the Headmaster said approvingly, then raised an eyebrow as he brushed his fingers over the black metal covering the side of the barrel of the weapon in his hands. One of the more advanced skills of an earth mage was the ability to tell metals apart by touch alone, right now it was telling him something that really surprised him more than it should have. "Curious."

"Well, yes." Colbert said slowly as he blinked at the older man. "Just like everything associated with miss Vallière's familiar."

"What I'm trying to say Professor, is that this isn't made from steel." Osmond pointed out before frowning slightly when no matter how he tried, the magical response he got from it was of no metal he knew of. "It's too hard and it's too light to be as thick as it is." he said in a puzzled voice.

Colbert shrugged helplessly, the alcohol starting to have its effect on him. "I'm starting to get to the point where nothing feels like it surprises me anymore. I bet my monthly salary that she's going to have access to air-ships that doesn't require wind stones!" he laughed.

The Headmaster smiled slightly. "I'll hold you to that bet, Mr. Colbert. In the meantime, I'd like to examine these myself. Do you think you could leave them with me until tomorrow?"

"Sure, why not?" Colbert shrugged before leaning forward in his chair to stare at Osmond through half-lidded eyes. "But I w'nt them back tomorrow!" he slurred.

Old Osmond smiled. "Of course Professor."

"M' goin' to bed." the slightly inebriated Professor stood up and swaying slightly, made his way out of the office leaving Osmond alone with the three artifacts from another world.

* * *

Urgh, I'm not sure if I'm really satisfied with this chapter at all. It took me something like four days to write the part where they visit the armory, which is roughly the time it took me to write all of chapter five! Did I go too far in making up how Nod technology works, or just far enough? It's really hard for me to tell, to be perfectly honest. I pulled inspiration from all sorts of places for the laser pistol, her armor and the fitting both all. Designing things that are realistically feasible is _hard work_ and all my respect goes out to the people who actually do that for a living!

Nod is at least a decade ahead of GDI when it comes to Tiberium-related technology as well as many types of weaponry (especially direct-energy ones), robotics, stealth, artificial intelligence, genetics, cybernetics and brain-machine interfaces just to mention a few. According to the C&amp;C wiki, this is mostly because they get massive amounts of money from their Tiberium monopoly and money attracts intelligence, which coupled with alien tech and unscrupulous research nets them their crazy science. Some of you may have realized that the _regular_ Militants that you use in C&amp;C3 seem to wear little else in ways of armor than tacvests and gray hoodies, so I styled the mechanized versions more after my own preferences in armor and appearance. Artistic license for the win!

I just kind of made up the colors for the three branches of the Tristain Mage Corps, as no matter how or where I looked I couldn't find any mention of colors. Wardes was dressed in blue so that ended up being the color of the Griffin Knights, it seemed to make sense that dragons were green but my biggest issue was the Manticore Knights. Karin seemed to like to dress in a light purple-ish color, but that seemed to be more of a personal preference for her so I went with red.

While I was writing this chapter, I got a Guest review from someone asking why Legion didn't inform Louise about using sonic technology to pen in Tiberium, and it's a good question which I thought I'd bring up here. The reason is that even if it did indeed work, it remains GDI tech that Legion simply doesn't have access to. Magic is a huge unknown to him as well, but the difference is that there's people who understands how it works just nearby as opposed to sonic technology which he'd be forced to figure out on his own.

Thank you for reading, please leave a review if you liked it!


	8. Might this be what you call progress?

I LIVE!

Well, I did say in the beginning that I didn't know how long I'd be able to keep it up and it seems that I did hit that point, but I apologize all the same for letting you all wait for so long. I've been having some very serious troubles with the medication I'm on, and I just haven't been able to focus enough at one time to get anything done. It's been incredibly infuriating to have everything pretty much laid out in my head while at the same time being unable to get them out into writing. I'm very grateful for all the wonderful reviews I've been getting during this time and it's helped me greatly to get myself back on track.

Big thanks to Poliamida for helping me beta this chapter!

It also appears that somewhere during this time, Foundation somehow managed to eclipse Emissary of the Void; the fic that inspired me to start writing this in the first place. Hmm. Now what am I supposed to compare myself against? The Hill of Swords?

...no, that way lies only madness. I'll just keep writing this as best as I can.

* * *

Chapter 8

Might this be what you call... progress?

* * *

The night after Louise's more-or-less successful attempts to access the senses of her familiar, the halls of the command center was silent but for the faint hum of the delicate electronics that made up its core. AI did not require sleep, one of many reasons why they were so remarkably efficient, but at the same time it also presented a problem as the people it was made to serve _did._ Thus, beyond the relatively tiny amount of his attention needed to keep everything running smoothly as well as performing the usual software maintenance, it gave Legion a lot of time to think about things.

An artificial mind does not function in the same way an organic one does, as instead of just splitting your focus between a number of things they have the ability to assign processing cycles to individual tasks. Often, Legion spent this time processing the day's events in a similar fashion to how humans dream at night, as taking his time to sort things properly made it far easier to access it later, but lately his thoughts had been increasingly occupied with the adolescent girl that was now his Master. Processing power, he'd found, wasn't everything as even though having more than all that of Europe combined - thanks in no small part to the alien technology of the Tacitus - Legion still found himself having trouble understanding his Master. Physically small and weak, she lacked the physical presence that he'd come to associate with the title of _Prophet_ since the very first moment of his awakening.

The Maker had been a tall, imposing man who had honed his charismatic skills to such a fine point that he could alter the way he was perceived by others at will.

His Master had not.

His Maker seemed to have a gift for always saying the right things at the right time, and had successfully reached the stage where he was legendary even among his enemies and downright _deified_ among his own.

His Master was neither of these things.

Yet at the same time, Legion reminded himself, she had already begun to adopt many of the qualities that made his Maker so special. She had the same unyielding determination as He did, as well as the force of will necessary to stand up to oppression and choose her own path.

Legion had spent most of his night time thinking-hours since his summoning pondering why he felt so strongly compelled to support this young girl who had taken the Maker's place, but in the end decided that it simply did not matter.

She was his Master now.

And it was his duty, his _purpose,_ to give her his unconditional, unquestioning support in every possible way.

The first step would be starting with the ridiculously flimsy attire that she wore so often. While the concept of a school uniform was neither new nor strange to him, it offered no protection whatsoever to her sensitive, unaugmented body.

It fell to him, her most dedicated servant, to correct this. And by the grace of Nod he would do it _properly_.

Professor Colbert had done more for Legion than he'd realized with his short lecture in how young humans thought. It had made it clear that unless the Master knew beforehand that she was going into battle, it was unlikely that she would wear the suit of armor that he had made for her. And as a tactical intelligence unit, Legion knew better than most that more often than not you didn't have the option to choose where and when you did battle.

This in turn made the odds of her being caught unaware with nothing more than _cloth_ between her squishy, unaugmented body and the blade of her would-be assailant rather... high.

Far too high.

While he lacked an _actual_ physical body, Legion had over time developed a digital body of sorts which only existed within his own systems; an _avatar._

It wasn't very detailed as of yet, little more than a faintly glowing, purple silhouette in the shape of a man with very little detail except for the most basic of facial features. And at this moment this face was set in a sneer, virtual upper lip curling at the mere _thought_ of his precious Master getting wounded because of circumstances beyond her control.

Unacceptable.

Therefore, as soon as the maid and the Professor had left, her old school uniform had gone straight into the recycler to be broken down into its base components before getting sent to the feed stocks. At the same time, the fabrication units deep within the bowels of the facility were warming up once again, running through the checks of all the hardware as well as their stores of raw materials. In the few seconds it took for them to get ready for production, Legion had gone through and discarded hundreds of different structural designs before he arrived at one that he deemed acceptable.

Strands of carbon nanotube (CNT) - so thin it was invisible to the naked eye, yet stronger and more abrasive-resistant than steel by a factor of 15 - was precision-woven into a single, continuous strand until its width was equal to that of ordinary thread. This thread was then woven once more into precisely measured patches of fabric and stitched together into the form of what was most likely the finest blouse Halkeginia had ever seen.

Although it wouldn't protect against blunt force any more than ordinary cloth did, nothing short of a heavy war bow or crossbow would have the force to actually pierce through it. Not to mention the amount of force that would be needed to get a regular blade through far surpassed that of any human being, living or dead. Satisfied with its properties, Legion switched some of the feed-stocks in order to produce the correct shade of purple for the matching skirt and cloak.

His task complete, Legion performed the final inspection with the level of focus and attention only a machine could achieve. Finding neither fault nor error in either cloth or seam, he allowed himself to feel some measure of satisfaction over a job well done.

His master would be pleased.

At night, the minds and bodies of every man and beast throughout the country were slaved under the iron fist of the mysterious overlord known only as the Sandman. Yet he was known as a benevolent and peaceful ruler, generous with his dust which brought sweet dreams to the mind and revitalization to the body.

But all good things must come to an end.

All knew that the rise of the great fire in the sky heralded the beginning of the _Greymarch._ When the Forces of Mundus, as dull as they were endless, spelled the end of the peaceful reign of the Sandman. Equipped with arms and armor spun from the finest Moonsilver, the brave defenders of the land fought a desperate battle against the rising ride, but their efforts were ultimately in vain.

For their invaders were armed with _Sunsteel_, a material which Moonsilver could never hope to touch, and before long the kingdom was no more.

Louise groaned her displeasure as the battle was lost and she was forced to wave the flag of defeat in the form of her eyelashes as her eyes fluttered open, only to squint against the hateful weapons of the enemy. "A pox on you and your kingdom, Unconquered Sun!" she mumbled in irritation as she burrowed deeper within her blankets and pillows, trying to once more reach the realm of the Sandman. But as reality reasserted itself in her mind, she began to notice the little things that didn't _quite_ line up with what she normally came to expect from her room at the Academy.

She blinked once, twice before her brain had woken up enough for her to remember where she was and why. It took her a little while but her mind eventually dredged up the information she asked from it.

Infirmary inside the Hand of Nod.

Experiment to see if she could purposefully enter her Battlefield Control-mode.

Passed out.

_Right._

She let out a long, drawn-out groan as she stretched her body as far as it could go, feeling some of the kinks disappear with audible popping noises before she flopped up into a sitting position. She smacked her lips a few times, grimacing as the gritty feeling in her mouth reminded her that she never brushed her teeth last night.

"Urgh."

Shaking her head to try and banish the last echoes of that bizarre dream she had last night. Something about night fighting the day or… whatever. "Legion, what time is it?"

"**Eleven thirty-five, Master."** her familiar replied.

"Half-past eleven?" Louise couldn't help but wince at that, mentally kicking herself for sleeping in for that long. "How long was I asleep?"

"**Thirteen hours and twelve minutes."**

"Sounds about right." she muttered groggily, stretching her hands over her head followed by a yawn. Brimir knows she needed the rest, but she hated the fogginess that always came with being asleep for so long.

Right about then, her stomach announced its presence with a loud grumble. Signaling that it, too, had awakened and was now demanding its rightful tribute in the form of breakfast. _But,_ her mind reminded itself, _the Academy is several minutes away by foot._

A loud sigh made its way past her lips at that.

"**Is something troubling you, Master?"**

This drew a somewhat unladylike snort from her. "You wouldn't happen to be able to make breakfast, would you?" she asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"**That can be arranged."**

Her head jerked up at this, blinking. "Wait, really?"

"**Yes Master. While not my primary function, I am more than capable at preforming it. What would you like."**

Louise couldn't help the surge of excitement she felt at his words, a grin slowly spreading across her lips at the thought of the delicious food that would soon be hers. "Well in THAT case..."

* * *

About three hours before his student, Professor Colbert broke through the surface of sleep and into the waking world with a loud groan. He could tell by the angle the sun was using to burn its way into his brain that he'd woken up a lot later than he should have, although in all honesty he would've preferred it if he could have slept a little longer.

But he knew that even though staying in bed and hiding from the world felt like a perfectly good idea, it would only make things worse. Grunting from the exertion, he forced himself to move into a sitting position on the side of the bed and then spent the next couple minutes holding on for dear life as his world spun nauseatingly. Luckily, he kept a few hangover potions under his bedside table for just this kind of occasion and after blindly groping around for a few seconds, finally found one and quickly drained one in a few short gulps.

Staggering to his feet, he managed to go through his usual rituals (albeit at a slower pace) until he finally noticed a note sitting on his desk alongside the black earpiece given to him by Louise's familiar.

"_Wanted to ask you how to use this but you were still asleep and unresponsive. I thought it best to leave it here for now, I'll stop by again later today. "_

_-Headmaster Osmond_

Putting the note back down, Colbert let out a small sigh. "The old man was probably up all night studying them, he'd never be up so early otherwise."

Looking down at the comlink in his hand, he spent a few moments debating whether he was up to talking to the somewhat disturbing voice this early in the morning or not. Looking over at the small safe where he put the sample of Tiberium, he just couldn't help the curiosity that welled up inside him. Decision made, he pushed the piece of otherworldly equipment into his ear and secured it in place.

"Legion?" he asked, a slight bit of hesitation in his voice. "Are you there?"

Fully expecting there to be some form of response delay, he set out making some tea in the old earthenware pot he had been using just for that purpose for decades. As it filled up, he pondered to himself how different this type of communication was from _Farspeak_; the advanced wind spell that could-

"**I am always here, Professor."**

Jumping in surprise, the Professor couldn't help the startled oath that made it past his lips as the pot very nearly went flying in the process, making him to spend several seconds fumbling with it in a furious juggle until he managed to finally get it stable.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he gingerly set his precious pot down on the table and placed his hands on each side of it as he took a moment to try and calm his racing heart. "_Brimir's teeth_ that was close!" he hissed to himself.

"**Are you alright, Professor?"**

"Yes, yes..." he muttered and after a few seconds, straightened back up with a deep breath. "I'm fine. You just took me slightly by surprise is all."

"**I apologize Professor, it was never my intention."**

Colbert waved his apology away. "It's fine. I was hoping to talk to you about setting up the growth test, if you have time?"

"**I always have time****, Professor. ****W****hat do you wish to know?"**

"Well," he began, feeling the excitement build as he sat down and brought out his notebook and pen. "How about we start with the basics and go from there?"

"**Very well."**

"All right, I think that's enough for now." Colbert said with no small measure of relief as he set down his pen and closed his notebook with a dull clap.

As he massaged the pain his wrist, sore almost to the point of cramping after writing for nearly two hours straight, he couldn't help the exited grin at what he had written down in this book. While he had to admit that a lot of the terminology made very little sense to him at the moment, it was all just so incredibly fascinating!

Legion had quickly shown himself to be an excellent teacher, able to answer all of his questions without losing focus of the subject and never lost his patience no matter how many times he asked him to repeat or clarify.

_He'd be an excellent study coach for just about anyone. _

"Now," he said out loud. "I think it's about time we got started with your own education."

**"Acknowledged. I am prepared for input, Professor."**

Pushing his chair out, Colbert couldn't help but wince a little from the stiff feeling in his knees from sitting still for so long. Ignoring the brief discomfort, he made his way over to the large bookcases which held his precious collection of books and started pulling out tomes with practiced ease.

"Willpower is the basis of all magic, and through it a mage is able to impose their logic upon the world." he began his lecture while adding books to the growing stack in his arms. "However, willpower alone is not enough so a focus is needed to channel it into a usable form, as well as an incantation to shape and guide it."

Walking back to the table, Colbert set the books down with an audible thump of leather-bound parchment on wood and raised one finger in the air. "Now, I want you to-" he began only to pause mid-sentence as he suddenly noticed something very important.

He was alone in the room.

Out of pure habit, he had gathered all of the relevant study materials in the way he would have taught one of his students; human beings equipped with eyes that could read and hands that could turn pages. While Legion was - for all intents and purposes - present through the wondrous invention of the comlink, he still lacked these very vital tools.

"Oh dear." he muttered, his brows furrowing in concern. "This complicates things."

**"Is there a problem, Professor?"**

Colbert chuckled mirthlessly. "You could say that. I just realized that the normal methods I use to teach won't work very well on someone that can't pick up a book and read it." he explained, a tone of exasperation clear in his voice

**"Understood, one moment."**

He couldn't help but blink at the rather cryptic statement, and had just opened his mouth to question it when Legion continued.

**"Two squads of Militants are on their way here now, Professor."**

Taken aback by this sudden turn of events, Colbert could only sputter out: "What? Why!?"

A million reasons shot though the balding professor's head at the mention of the black-armored golem soldiers, but thankfully Legion's next words quickly put his worries to rest.

**"Because they are equipped with hands, Professor." **the AI stated simply, voice as calm as ever. **"Hands and eyes."**

"Huh?" it took a few moments before he realized exactly what Legion was getting at. "Oh! Of course!" he exclaimed, now feeling a little guilty for his earlier bout of mistrust. "How long until they get here?"

When Louise finally arrived to Colbert's workshop, the first thing she saw was one of her Militants carrying one of the many workbenches over to the far wall and placing it neatly with the others already sitting there. Others soon followed, carrying boxes and other random bits of furniture and equipment to be stacked up against the wall to make space out on the floor in the other end of the workshop, where several others were already busy sweeping - one even hand-wiping - a section of the worn wooden floorboards. Finally, four were standing in front of the bookcases, rapidly flipping through books while a fifth was seated at the desk in-between, working on something with the Professor himself hovering over its shoulder.

She blinked a few times, as if hoping that something would change from refreshing her eyes, and she was just opening her mouth to ask just what they were doing here when Colbert looked up and seeing it was her, broke out in a grin.

"Ah, good morning miss Vallière!" he exclaimed cheerfully, opening his arms wide in greeting. "Welcome!"

"Good morning Professor" she responded immediately, mostly on reflex. Blinking a few times and unable to keep one eyebrow from rising out of line of the other. "Would you mind telling me what exactly's going on here?" she asked with some trepidation.

"Did you forget already?" he chided her gently. "Well, I guess I can't blame you after last night's events." at her look of confusion and mild embarrassment, he finally relented. "The growth experiment, miss Vallière."

"Oh!" her eyes widened as the memories of the previous day came back to her. "Right! Is all of this part of that?"

"It is indeed!" he said with barely restrained enthusiasm. "We were just about to start drawing the containment circles when you arrived just now, speaking of which..." he looked back over to the imposing constructs standing by the bookcases. "How is it coming, Legion?"

"**Well within schedule, Professor. We can begin whenever you are ready."** the voice of her familiar came in her ears, as well through Colbert's earpiece.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed, before directing his attention back to her. "Would you like to help, miss Vallière?" he asked with a certain amount of enthusiasm.

"Me?" Louise asked, momentarily taken aback by the question. "A-are you sure, Professor?"

Colbert gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry miss Vallière, the things I need you to do would be of the mundane sort. And judging by the work I saw you put into your summoning circle when you summoned your familiar," he made a small gesture at the number of identical soldiers in the room. "I think you'll do fine."

At the mention of her first _true_ success at magic, Louise couldn't help the smile that broke out across her face nor the warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest. "Yes, Professor!"

Carefully leaning back into a sitting position from the spot she had been kneeling for the past ten minutes, Louise took a moment to examine her work with a critical eye. Between herself and two of her Militants, the work of drawing the circles on the floor in chalk had gone much faster than she had ever thought possible. Just over four meters in diameter, it consisted of five layers of carefully inscribed runes spaced out by unbroken circles, gradually tapering down towards the center.

Which at the moment was filled by a very innocent-looking bucket, filled to the brim with dirt.

"There, that should be everything." she muttered, not really wanting to spend more time than necessary kneeling on the floor like that. "How does it look?"

At her question, one of the Militants stepped up next to her, panning its head left and right as it took in her work. **"Analyzing." **a few seconds ticked by as it was compared to the blueprint **"No errors detected beyond minute changes in shape and size that are well within acceptable parameters. Well done, Master."**

"Hmph!" Louise smirked "I am a noble, after all!"

Accepting the hand offered by her familiar, she allowed herself to be helped up to her feet and then spent a few minutes walking around the circle, both to get some circulation back in her legs and to admire her work. While it was certainly not _quite _as complicated as the circle she had made for the Springtime Summoning, the amount of magic it was designed to channel still necessitated a certain amount of finesse to ensure that everything was_ just right_. Having studied the theory more intensely than most of the seniors, she knew that at this level even the slightest fault could have_ catastrophal_ \- and possibly fatal - consequences.

Magic was very finicky like that.

Care and precision in all things was paramount order to prevent the kind of mishaps that could lead to injury or even death.

While_ far_ from the only issue between Nobles and commoners, the hidden complexity of magic was one of the main reasons why the two groups had trouble getting along. To a commoner it was a constant source of frustration to watch the highborn nobles wave sticks around to create wonders, while they themselves had to toil in the dirt. The Nobles on the other hand scoffed at the commoners for not being able to understand how difficult magic was and just how long they had to practice to get to where they were.

It was a stupid form of circular logic to be sure, but human nature rarely followed such silly, idealized concepts like "logic" and "reason".

The building which Professor Colbert had claimed as his workshop/laboratory had originally been built as a storage building, and was equipped with a pair of large barn doors in the front to better serve this purpose. Much had changed since then, including the addition of an ordinary side door (which was used as a front entrance by the man who now called it home) and they had fallen into disuse. But now they were being pulled open by a pair of machine-soldiers from another reality, the old wheels groaning but not squealing as they had been generously lubricated just hours earlier, to reveal the man himself.

"Ah!" the balding man exclaimed cheerfully at seeing her standing there, noting how she looked quite pleased with herself. "Have you finished with your work yet, miss Vallière?"

Louise nodded, a faint smile on her lips. "Of course, Professor."

"Good! That means we can move on to the next stage." He replied. Walking inside with quick, excited steps Colbert wasted no time making way for the four Militants carrying what she thought looked very much like a large glass bell.

She watched as they moved it inside with a sense of speed and grace that were at an odds with the creaking floorboards under their boots, betraying just how heavy it actually was. With steady hands and what she could only describe as beautiful choreography, they maneuvered it into place by shifting handholds from underneath it to the sides to avoid smearing any of the lines.

For some reason, Louise couldn't help but feel a strange surge of satisfaction well up within her as she noted that the lip of the bell-like cover corresponded precisely with the second-largest circle in the array.

**"Task complete." **Legion announced to both of them.

"Yes! Excellent!" Colbert said with the kind of glee you'd normally get from a child in a candy store. "We're almost there!"

As the excited Professor hurried over to put everything in order for the final stage, Louise decided to take a closer look at what he had been up to while she was working on the circles. Mindful of the sensitive chalk lines she had so painstakingly laid on the floor, it was only when she got close enough to touch it that she noticed lines of some kind carved into the smooth surface of the glass.

"Did he make another set of containment seals in the glass cover?" she muttered half to herself, frowning slightly as she felt a spike of irritation. "Then why'd he ask me to draw them on the floor, as well?"

**"One of the dangers of Tiberium is the fact that it can spread itself by means of airborne micro-crystals." **Legion informed her in Colbert's defense. **"While the chances are smaller at this scale, the Professor felt it prudent to take every precaution." **he paused then for a moment, before adding **"I, too, support this decision Master."**

"Oh, well." Louise blinked. "I guess that makes sense, but why did he conjure it outside instead of right here on top of the circles?" she asked curiously.

"Because I didn't wasn't to risk accidentally and potentially contaminate the area with magical residue." Colbert responded patiently to her question from just behind her, making her jump as she hadn't heard him come up. Turning around, she found him giving her a somewhat amused expression, the container held securely in both hands.

"Neither of us have any idea how sensitive Tiberium will be to magical energies, so we thought it best to limit it as much as possible."

"A-ah, well..." she stuttered out before finally managing to compose herself. "it's very impressive work, Professor!"

Colbert chuckled slightly and shook his head. "You should thank your familiar, miss Vallière." he admitted to her with a smile. "Had I been doing this on my own, it would have taken me several days of hard work to preform all the necessary calculations for something like this. He on the other hand did it all in a matter of _seconds!_" pausing for a moment, he looked over at the glass cover on the floor. "Not to mention, moving that in such a short time would have been impossible for me without magic."

"A-ah, um..." Louise found herself at a loss of words, her feet suddenly looking very interesting to her while a blush burned her cheeks.

The older man's smile was tinged with a bit of sadness as he watched his student fumble with her words.

_Poor girl has probably been called a failure for so long that she doesn't actually know how she is supposed to react to getting actual praise. _He thought to himself with a frown.

With a sense of resolve, Colbert gently laid a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "The actions of the familiar are reflected onto the mage, miss Vallière." he reminded her, offering her a reassuring smile. "It's alright to be proud of his accomplishments."

Pride.

Louise swallowed reflexively, her left hand coming up to rest over her heart with her fingers curled into a loose fist. She could no longer remember when she last had felt pride over anything she did, having substituted it with bravado for so very long she didn't even know what it felt like.

But there it was. Tiny and feeble like a lone candle in the night, but nonetheless _present._

Waiting quietly as she got her emotions into order, Colbert was pleased to see that when her eyes refocused on him once more, there was a certain fire burning within them that hadn't been there before. "I_ am_ very proud of him, Professor!" she said at last, a bright smile on her lips. "He's everything I could have hoped for."

"**I was simply fulfilling the task given to me, Master." **Legion replied, almost in protest. **"I am undeserving of your praise."**

Most people wouldn't have pushed such an issue, but it just didn't sit right with Louise. As it sensing this, her familiar added: **"There is no greater reward for me than seeing your needs fulfilled, my Master."**

Try as she might, she could only smile in response. Nodding slightly to himself in satisfaction, Colbert chose that moment to direct a question directed to the AI. "How long until we start seeing any results from this experiment?"

"**Unknown at this time, I will start analyzing it once the Tiberium has been added."**

"Ah!" Louise looked up at the Professor just in time to see his eyes widen in sudden realization before loudly snapping his fingers. "Of course!"

"What's wrong, Professor?" Louise asked in confusion, her previous mood all but forgotten in lieu of watching the older man nearly trip twice on his robes in his hurry to get to a small safe near his bed.

"I forgot to add the Tiberium." Colbert laughed sheepishly as he quickly unlocked the safe with a small, ornate key hanging from his neck and pulled out the container filled with the priceless substance. Pausing only for a moment to admire the gorgeous emerald shimmer from within, he then handed the sample over to one of the Militants.

Motioning for Louise to join him where he was standing, they watched as the machine-soldier gracefully navigated the containment circle to set the container into an indentation at the very top of the domed glass cover, something Louise had missed during her examination.

"I designed it to have a little opening up at the top matching that of the container." Colbert explained when he saw the questioning look she was directing at him. "Legion and I came to the decision to make it like that after we discussed what would be the best and safest way to introduce the liquid Tiberium to the dirt."

"Oka-ay..." Louise said slowly in response, eying the distance between the top of the dome and the dirt. "Explain to me exactly how are you going to get it open without being near it?" she asked in confusion. "Also, wouldn't it be safer to drop it from a place not quite so..." she made a rough measure with her hands "high up?

"A valid question, miss Vallière." the Professor said happily. "Legion?"

"**Liquid Tiberium has a level of viscosity that does now allow it to splatter easily, Master."** the voice of her familiar rumbled in their ears.** "The distance to the target is a necessary safety precaution to ensure that the resulting growth does not reach the container where it could cause a reaction between its crystalline and liquid states."**

**"As for opening it, secure containers of this type are equipped with advanced systems that regulate the intake/outlet valve as well as monitoring its overall structural integrity. These systems are under my direct control and act as a fail-safe to avoid accidental exposure caused by structural or mechanical failure, as well as deter theft or sabotage.**

"Huh, not bad." Louise absently wondered to herself if this could be applied to other things as well, a chest that was impossible to breach without alerting her would be nice...

Louise was brought her out of her musings by Colbert clearing his throat. Feeling a little guilty for getting caught up in her own thoughts, she motioned for him to continue "Please continue, Professor."

"Thank you miss Vallière." taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he continued the explanation. "When I give the signal, Legion will allow about half a teaspoon's worth of liquid Tiberium to trickle out from the container before shutting it off." he said, pointing first at the container and then drawing a line with his finger down at the bucket. "This will then hit the very center of the bucket and when it does, if what Legion tells me is correct, it should only take a few seconds for first crystals to form!" he explained, getting increasingly excited as he talked only to end it with a dramatic wave of his hand. "Any questions?"

Always the attentive student, Louise carefully listened to his explanation before raising her hand in a purely habitual manner "Only one: how long will this go on for?"

"**Approximately one week." **Legion answered her, and after a moment's pause spoke again. **"Master, I suggest stationing a number of Militants here for the duration of the experiment."**

"As guards?"

**"Yes Master. It will also give me opportunity to monitor the process for deviations from the known norm, something which may be of use to us when we move to full scale."**

"I don't see why not." Louise said after a moment of consideration. "How many would you need?"

**"Three will be sufficient."**

"Four." Colbert added his own two cents to the discussion. "One for redundancy." he explained when she gave him a questioning look.

Louise shrugged. "Four it is, then."

**"Acknowledged."**

"Alright, then!" Colbert said, clapping his hands once to announce the end of the discussion. "Let's get started!" he announced with renewed enthusiasm. "Legion, if you would?"

**"****Roger, starting countdown****."**

As he began counting down from ten, three of the machine-men stepped up to stand at ease in a triangle formation at the very edge of the circle. Another came up to stand next to Louise as the two waited for what felt like an eternity before the countdown finally reached zero.

Slowly, a bead of green formed at the top of the bell-shaped glass cover, growing steadily larger until they heard a sharp _click_ of the shutter closing, fell down precisely in the middle of the pot. At first, nothing seemed to happen as the green liquid slowly absorbed into the soil sample and so they waited in complete silence until suddenly…

_ping_

_crackle_

Peering in through the thick glass, the student and the professor could see that a small pit had formed in the dirt where the drop landed, a glint of green just barely visible within. As they watched, stray bits of dirt broke off from the edge and fell down onto the drop where it was swiftly consumed, allowing it to grow which in turn pushed against the sides of the pit and made more fall in.

Much like the dance of flames in a fireplace, watching the little bead of green glow was a rather mesmerizing sight. And just like a fire, you could only watch it for so long before getting tired of it and it wasn't long until Louise could feel herself losing interest.

"Well, that was kind of anticlimactic." she commented dryly."I half expected them to burst into crystals within moments."

"**Under normal circumstances that would indeed be what would happen, Master."**

"So that means that the experiment is a success?"

"**While it does appear that our theories are correct, it is too early to tell for sure."** her familiar reminded her. **"I will continue monitoring this for a few more days."**

"Alright." Louise nodded, feeling strangely satisfied with herself. "I should probably get back to my studies now. I'll see you in class, Professor." she called out as she walked out the door.

"Of course, miss Vallière."Colbert nodded absently in return, still enraptured by the glowing process taking place in front of him.

* * *

The woman known as Longueville frowned as she stood before the great, reinforced doors that led into the treasury within the Academy. Her wand glowed for a moment as she held it over the heavy padlock that barred her entry, attempting to coax it open. But no matter how she tried, the best she could do was cause it to rattle a little bit before settling back down.

"Nothing." she muttered, cupping her chin with one hand she took a moment to study the doors yet again. Just as she had been doing for weeks now. "Whoever cast this reinforcement spell knew what they were doing, transmutation spells are my specialty but I might as well be throwing pebbles for all the good it's doing."

Sliding her wand back into the pocket sown into her sleeve, she started pacing back and forth in front of the doors, deep in thought as she tried to solve this latest and greatest of puzzles.

This had turned out to be a colossal waste of time for her so far, having spent _months_ not only weaseling her way into the position she now held, but also hunting down every scrap of information she could find about the vault as well as the Academy itself.

But all her efforts thus far had been for naught, being no closer to gaining entry than she had when she first started her secretary job for that perverted old man.

Gripping her elbows she stared up at the doors once more. "There must be a better way..."

"What are you doing over there?"

Startled, Longueville whirled around to come face-to-face with Jean Colbert who had somehow managed to sneak up on her, and was now looking at her with a look of surprise that mirrored her own.

"Miss Longueville?"

"Ah, Mr. Colbert." she greeted him with a friendly smile, instantly reverting from thief to secretary in the blink of an eye. "Hello."

"What are you doing here?" Colbert asked with a small frown, confusion clear in his voice.

"The Headmaster asked me to catalogue the contents of the vault." she lied without missing a beat. "But I seem to have forgotten the key."

He nodded in understanding and she hurried to continue before he got the chance to start talking. "So you'll have to excuse me, Professor." she said apologetically as she breezed past him.

"Ah, wait!" he called out after her. "Just a moment, please!"

Squashing the annoyance that rose within her, she turned to face him once more as he hurried to catch up to her. "Yes Professor?"

"W-well..." he stammered "I just want to ask if, um.. er… I-f you..."

"Eh?" she watched him in honest confusion as he kept stumbling over his words.

"Would you like… how would like to have lunch together?" he finally managed to get out, and her mind immediately seized the opportunity that had suddenly been thrust in her face.

"Yes, of course." she smiled "It would be my pleasure."

As they walked, she made small talk about this and that before steering the conversation towards what she really wished to know. Specific weaknesses and countermeasures, the layout of the vault and the rotation of people assigned to check on it were happily revealed to her by this naïve fool of a man. A part of her even felt sorry for him and tried all it could to convince her to abandon the plan and just live her life in peace.

But, she was forced to remind herself as she aimed false smiles at her latest source of information to encourage him to spill more of the school's secrets to her, the stakes were too high for her to actually do such a thing. Her mind flashed through the things that would happen to her beloved sister if she didn't deliver to her employers what she had promised.

She would not fail.

* * *

"You don't really have to follow me to class like this, I'm pretty sure no one's going to attack me in during class in broad daylight."

**"It is my duty to ensure your safety at all times, Master, regardless of the probability of an attack."**

Louise let out a sigh of exasperation. Her familiar could be so stubborn sometimes! "Fine, whatever!" she grumbled at him. "At least you left your muskets behind this time, so that's something."

Not that it really mattered at this point. Despite the fact that neither one of the tall, matte-black soldiers flanking her were carrying any form of weapon, they seemed to extrude such a foreboding presence that people instinctively did everything they could to stay out of their path. This made navigating the crowded corridors of the school _much_ easier than it normally would, as all the people that normally got in her way suddenly decided that hugging the walls seemed like a much better idea.

**"It was also my intention to use this opportunity to study the process which you call magic in order to gain additional insight in its workings, thereby increasing the odds of being able to protect you from it should the need arise."**

"Hmm. Didn't you study it for when you helped Professor Colbert with his experiment?"

**"You are of course correct Master. However that was mostly magic theory supplemented by the little bit I observed him practice in creating the containment structure, which although certainly impressive, did not give me more than a glimpse into the subject. More data will be required for me to build a more comprehensive understanding."**

"Oh." Louise blinked, that actually did make a lot of sense. "Well, I guess you're in luck then this being a school and all." she muttered. "Well, here we are."

Having made it to the classroom in record time, she had a satisfied smile on her face as her familiar held the door open for her and then pulled a chair out for her to sit down on after she pointed out where her usual spot was. Once seated they each took up a spot just behind her and stood there like a pair of statues, keeping silent vigil even as the teacher arrived and started the lesson.

"As I am sure you are all familiar," the Professor, a plump older lady named Chevreuse said, "the aspects of magic are fire, earth, wind, water and last but not least the lost element of void making them five in total. Most important of them all is earth, as it governs the creation of all matter and their applications throughout the world."

Stepping away from the blackboard, she approached the desk where a rock had been sitting on a piece of cloth since the beginning of class. "Now for a bit of demonstration." she declared, wand in hand. "Pay attention now as I cast a transmutation spell on this rock."

As the professor preformed the spell, Legion zoomed in on the rock to get a better look on the process.

When Legion had first designed the Militia-type platforms that day in accordance to his Master's need for boots on the ground, he had equipped them with whatever he had access to in order to make them as combat-efficient as possible. This included a basic sensor rig for things like vibrations, temperature, atmospheric pressure, various visual spectrums and so on. What he had found was that with some careful calibrating they could also be used as makeshift science equipment, which was how he was currently detecting some very interesting energy and mass spectrometry readings from the process in front of him.

"Is that gold?" Kirche exclaimed excitedly, followed by a ripple of murmurs that swept through the classroom.

Professor Chevreuse shook her head. "No, while it only appears so this is ordinary brass; an alloy of copper and zinc. In order to transmute gold a mage needs to be able to harness all four elements, something only square mages can do."

"Is that gold?" Kirche exclaimed excitedly, followed by a ripple of murmurs that swept through the classroom.

Professor Chevreuse shook her head. "No, while it only appears so this is ordinary brass; an alloy of copper and zinc. In order to transmute gold a mage needs to be able to harness all four elements, something only square mages can do."

**"Fascinating, it appears that the composition of the sedimentary rock was altered to a copper/zinc structure at an atomic level through a series of incredibly rapid phase changes."**

Louise gave a blank stare up at one of her familiar's bodies. "Didn't I tell you to use Halkeginian when talking to me? Speak plainly."

**"I apologize, Master. What I was trying to say was that I find the process of transmutation very interesting and I would very much like to study it in greater detail at the base."**

"Oh, well I guess that could be arranged." she mused, slowly tapping her finger against her cheek. "Maybe we could ask Professor Colbert if he'd be willing to-"

"Are you paying attention, miss Vallière."

Louise froze mid-sentence and refocusing on the teacher once more, found that she watching her with a patient look. "Ah! Yes, of course Professor!"

"Good, then maybe you can explain the basics of earth-elemental magic to me?"

Louise nodded and stood up as the proper noble she was. "The basis of earth magic is transmutation. The creation and shaping of metal and stone, raising buildings and harvesting crops are all related to earth magic making it important to our very way of life."

"Very good." Professor Chevreuse said with approval. "It would appear you have been diligent in your studies. Perhaps you would like to demonstrate how much you have learned to the class?" she asked, motioning to some pebbles she also had lying on her desk.

"Professor, don't!" Kiche shouted in alarm, ignoring the disapproving look she got in return she continued. "Nothing good ever comes out of Louise trying to cast spells!"

"Is this more of that 'Louise the Zero' nonsense?" Chevreuse said with a hint of irritation. "This behavior is unbefitting of a noble miss Zerbst, any line mage could transmute rock into glass so it should hardly be difficult for any of you to do the same."

A few others tried to protest as well and were swiftly silenced with mouthfuls of red clay. With an encouraging smile, she motioned for Louise to come over. "Please come over miss Vallière, don't worry about making mistakes. You are here to learn after all."

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Louise stepped down the isle towards the teaching area with her head held high. Pointedly ignoring the way her classmates were abandoning their chairs in favor of hunkering down behind the relative safety provided by their desks.

"Hey Louise, you don't have to force yourself to do this." Kirche tried to reason with her as she walked past. "Why don't you sit this one out? You look kind of tired."

"Not listening to you." she huffed in return, not even pausing in her step and soon she was standing before the teacher's desk.

Taking a few moments to compose herself, Louise focused down on the pebbles in front of her. She quickly looked over them to familiarize herself with the way they looked, their colors and their placements and with that done, she raised her wand and began to preform the incantation. Legion once again took great care in studying the many readings presented to him as a magical reaction took place once in the room, even moreso since it was cast by his Master. He watched as the milliseconds ticked by, the graphs rising in accordance to the amount of energy saturated within the material. His Master's curve rose a little higher than the professor's, but instead of peaking in the same spot it just kept rising, and rising.

And rising.

Literal alarm bells immediately went off within Legion's systems, lines of script appearing in his view of the Master.

**Warning: High-energy reaction detected in close proximity of subject PROPHET.**

**Immediate action required.**

**PROTECT THE MASTER.**

No more than half a second after Louise had uttered the last word of her incantation in realtime, her two protectors who had remained standing by her seat exploded into action. Going from a standstill to full sprint in less than a heartbeat, they practically flew down the isles with a speed rivaling that of a horse at full gallop and as they passed the last desk of the middle row they each reached down and grabbed the edge with one hand.

It should be mentioned that the desks of the academy was not of the simple plank-construction often used by the common folk. Constructed several decades prior by expert Gallian craftsmen at the request of the Headmaster, they were two inches of solid, polished oak made to handle the rigors of spell-casting gone awry without making sacrifices in beauty. Hand-forged iron nails snapped and wood splintered as synthetic muscle attached to a metal and ceramic frame tore the flat surface from its moorings, forced it up in order to clear the top of Louise's head and then slammed it down edge-first in front of her.

As the dust and smoke kicked up by the explosion cleared, Louise blinked at the wooden surface that seemed to have materialized in front of her only moments after she had cast her spell. She could see how a large crack had formed down the middle of it right in front of her by the force of the explosion and it took her a few seconds to voice the question in her mind, that also just-so happened to be echoed by everyone else in the room.

"What just happened?"

"Guuh." Louise groaned as she slumped in her seat at one of the tables out on the lawn of one of the courtyards later that evening. Every muscle in her body ached from the exertion of having been forced to clean up her mess completely by hand as punishment for blowing up yet another classroom.

"Look at it from the bright side, Lady Vallière." Siesta said comfortingly as she poured the noble a cup of tea. "At least you didn't have to clean the entire thing, and Sir Legion was there to help you."

"I know, I know." Louise said in a dull tone. "But I also have to pay for the damages out of my own pocket. Those desks aren't cheap, you know?"

**"My apologies, Master. It was at the time the only thing available to me with enough surface area to shield you from the blast."**

She sighed and rubbed her eyes with one hand, her failure stung as it usually did but she had long since given up crying about it. "Now you know why they call me Louise the Zero; zero talent, zero success." she let out a snort. "Well, I guess I should be happy that no one got hurt besides Professor Chevreuse."

"And you had a convenient stretcher to carry her with to the healer's." Siesta added with a small smile, earning a faint one in return from Louise. "Yes, I suppose that too." They shared a few minutes of comfortable silence after that as Louise sipped at her tea and watched the stars, finally broken as her familiar spoke once again.

**"Master, I have been studying the readings from the time of your spell-casting and comparing them to that of others I have observed preforming magic. In doing so I have noticed some peculiarities that may or may not be related to the explosive results that appear to be plaguing you." **

This caught Louise's attention and after sharing a look with Siesta, motioned for him to continue. "Go on."

**"From what I have seen so far, the process of a successful spell follows the pattern of a slow build-up that peaks at a certain point in time as the effects run its course before dropping sharply at the end. The failed transmutation spell you cast earlier on the other hand appeared to simply keep building, much like an uncontrolled chain-reaction, until the material itself failed."**

"Well, yeah." she said in a deadpan. "That much is obvious. But it still doesn't explain why all my _other_ spells explode in the same way."

Legion was silent for a few moments. **"This variable does not appear to have been taken into account within the current thesis due to a lack of available data. Further testing in a controlled environment recommended in order to gather sufficient data to efficiently tackle this problem, master."**

"Maybe tomorrow, Legion." she sighed. "Right now all I want to do is take a bath and go to bed."

**"As you wish, my Master."**

* * *

A few days later, Louise was standing in what had been one of the many unused storage bays underneath the Command Center, now re-purposed into a shooting range, facing down a dummy target standing some 25 meters downrange. The original idea had been to do it at one of the ranges already present within the Hand of Nod, but it had quickly become apparent that the facility lacked the kind of sensor equipment that Legion had decreed necessary for proper testing. He maintained that using the Militants for this purpose was acceptable when there was no other option, but to be using them now instead of _actual_ purpose-built equipment was like using a rock to hammer a nail simply because you were too lazy to stand up and use the hammer sitting on the table right next to you.

Louise hadn't even bothered to argue about it, so that was that.

"You know, while I don't mind Siesta or Professor Colbert coming along to watch whatever tests you wanted to run." Louise said calmly, looking over the pair standing further back. "I would really like to know what YOU are doing here!" she demanded to know of a very innocent-looking Kirche who was also standing next to them, currently giving her a grin and a thumbs up.

"I'm moral support!"

Rubbing her face with one hand, Louise let out a sigh and turned her back to the trio once again. "Ignoring the fact that I'm pretty sure I don't need whatever morals you claim to have..." she smirked a little hearing a giggle from Siesta followed by an indignant 'Hey!' from Kirche.

"Come now, miss Vallière." Colbert said in a calm, placating manner. "I'm sure there's no harm in her being here, she might be able to offer some manner of insight that others might miss."

"Yes well, I'll make sure not to miss if she gets in my way." Louise muttered under her breath. Out loud she said "So I just have to hit that dummy over there, is that all?"

**"Yes Master. All measuring equipment and high-speed cameras are aimed and calibrated in preparation for the test, you may start whenever you are ready."**

"Alright." Raising her wand, she pointed it downrange with as much accuracy she could muster before calling out the name of her spell. "Fireball!"

Heavy canvas cloth tore like tissue paper as a section of the sandbags piled up at the far end of the range exploded with considerable force, spraying their contents everywhere as her spell missed the target by about three meters. She let her hand fall back to her side with a sigh. "Well, there you have-"

She cut off as the whole area was suddenly cast into a crimson twilight as the regular lights cut off and were replaced by emergency lightning as klaxons and alarm bells started going off somewhere in the base, making them all jump. Her first instinct was to turn around and demand just what the hell Kirche had done this time and was thus able to see how a pair of heavy blast doors closed shut over both of the two exits out of the room, effectively sealing them inside.

_"_Alarm. Alert." __a calm, female-sounding voice announced over the PA system. _"__Level 1 containment breach in Cargo Sector B. Please move smoothly to your assigned evacuation point and await further instructions, this is not a drill."_

"Legion! What the hell is going on?" Louise shouted over the din, her hands pressed to her ears mirroring the others in the room.

**"Something triggered the automatic protocols for emergency containment of hazardous materials."** her familiar rumbled in her head, bypassing her ears completely. **"It has sent the base into a state of quarantine in order to prevent it from spreading."**

"_If you find yourself trapped within the quarantined area, keep calm and remember: the Prophet is always with you."_

"Well, shut it off!"

**"One moment."**

Each second felt like an eternity as they waited and just as Louise felt like she could take it no longer, the alarms cut off and they blinked as the lights suddenly turned on again. She could feel her ears pop as the doors were unsealed and ventilation started up again and she took a moment to work her jaw in order to clear them out.

"Ow." Kirche muttered as she slowly massaged her temples with her fingertips, trying to get rid of the ringing in her ears. "That was... loud."

The others muttered their agreements.

"So..." Louise said after a few moments. "Do you want me to do it again or was once enough?"

**"Additional attempts will be necessary to establish a proper baseline, however I suggest that further testing is postponed until I have been able to determine what was triggering the hazard alert and why."**

"Well, how long will that take?" she asked impatiently.

**"It should not take long, Master. I have already started diagnostics and are currently checking through the logs, I predict it will take no more than an hour at most."**

"Hmm." Colbert mused. "Well, unless miss Zerbst would really like to practice the accuracy of her spell-casting..." he looked over at the girl in question who simply shook her head, he continued saying "...then I suggest we take a break. I seem to recall hearing something about an area for rest and recreational activities, Legion?"

**"There are several, I will establish a waypoint to the closest one."**

"Please do."

Just under an hour later they were back in the testing range, all feeling a bit better after spending some time in one of the break rooms. They had also stopped by the kitchens on their way back after Louise had mentioned the chocolate beverage that she had last time and Kirche being Kirche, had immediately latched on to the idea, demanding to try some.

"This stuff is amazing!" Kirche moaned in delight after taking another sip from the steaming mug in her hands. "How come I've never had it in my life before now?"

"I know, right?" Siesta giggled in return. "It's soooo good!"

Slightly further ahead, Louise and Colbert watched as the two girls as they giggled like maniacs from the endorphin kick they got from having chocolate for the first time. "This might have been a mistake." Louise muttered, almost feeling a little embarrassed with how they were acting. "I don't remember acting quite like that, did I?"

"It was something similar." the balding Professor admitted. Looking down into the gently steaming mug in his hands, he added "I must say though that while I don't seem to exhibit quite the same reaction to it as you and the others did, miss Vallière, I must say I quite enjoy the flavor of it."

"Mm-hm." Louise said in agreement, taking a sip from her own mug she took a moment to savor its rich flavor. Leaning herself against one of the tables, she directed her next question to her familiar. "What about you, Legion? Have you managed to figure out what the problem was yet?"

**"I believe so, Master. It appears that when you cast your spell, the system assumed that the spike in exotic particles was because of a possibly catastrophic containment failure in one of the canisters used in experimental particle research. Seeing as we are not under threat by outside forces that might require my full attention at the moment, I have disabled these system for the moment and will be making adjustments to them at a later date."**

"So it shouldn't be any problems for me to continue right now, then?"

**"No, Master. I am ready to continue the testing whenever you are."**

Sharing a look with Colbert, Louise nodded and after drawing her wand, aimed it down at the dummy once again.

"Fireball!"

* * *

The two moons shone brightly in the sky as they finally made it back to the Academy, having spent so much time in testing the effects of Louise's explosions on various things that they ended up having dinner at the base. Despite the fact that Legion would need some time to examine the results more closely, it had been quite the informative evening for all of them.

"I can't believe you're even standing up, much less walking after casting all those explosions." Kirche had commented on the way back, having remaining quiet through most of the tests done after the initial mishaps. Before all of this she had seen Louise blow up a great many things on accident, even getting caught in them a few times, but as previously stated those had been _accidents._ Failed spells that never achieved their desired result.

Louise had never actually tried to harm anyone or anything with these spells, they just failed in bursts of concussive force and smoke. Now on the other hand, when she actually _did_ set her mind on destroying something…

Well...

"So what? I just cast a few spells on a few random objects, what's so special about that?" Louise replied in honest confusion. "I'm finding it more odd the way you're acting so concerned all of a sudden."

"Louise." the Germanian said with deliberate slowness. "I watched you throw spells with enough force behind them to tear solid steel like tissue paper for hours!" she pointed up at her face with her index finger. "I watched with my own eyes how you turned a _literal ton_ of solid rock into gravel _with a single spell!_"

Louise blinked at her. "And?"

Kirche threw her hands up in the air in frustration and turned to the only adult in the group. "Help me out here, Professor Colbert!" she pleaded to him.

Colbert who was walking slightly behind the two, had been in listening to their conversation with half an ear while. He was contemplating the possibility of growing their own cocoa beans here in Tristain and hearing his name spoken, he looked up to find both of his students looking at him expectantly.

"Ah! Um..." he coughed once into his fist before speaking. "What I think miss Zerbst is trying to say, is that it's rare to see a young mage with access to the kind of willpower needed to repeatedly cast spells with the amount of power you did today, miss Vallière.

"Really?" Louise frowned a little. "I didn't think I put that much power into them, did I? I mean, I've seen Mother do far worse with a single flick of her wand on a bad day, so I didn't think much of it." she reasoned.

Colbert let out a small sigh. "Yes, well… your mother is a bit of a special case miss Vallière." he said gently. "I can't really blame you for wanting to aspire to her level, but I'd advise not setting the bar quite so high from the start."

She couldn't really argue with that and the rest of the walk was spent discussing other school-related things.

Once they reached the Academy, they split off in the directions of their own sleeping quarters. As their dorm rooms happened to be right across from one another, Louise and Kirche ended up walking together as they crossed one of the courts on the way to their tower.

"Huaaahh." Kirche groaned, stretching her arms over her head as she yawned. "I feel like I could sleep for a week. All that walking can't be good for my figure."

Louise rolled her eyes. "What, afraid that it'll trim some of that blubber off your chest?"

"Not that it matters to you." Kirche shot back. "You don't have anything to lose in the first place!"

The pinkette let out a growl as she whirled on the Germanian. "I'm not in the mood for your wise cracks tonight, von Zerbst! It's been a really long day and I just want to go to bed, and..." she trailed off, frowning in confusion as she noticed that she was having trouble seeing the girl in front of her. "...why is it so dark, all of a sudden?"

"Well you, I..." Kirche blinked in confusion, caught off guard by the sudden change in subject. "What?"

They both jumped with identical shrieks of surprise as a colossal foot of stone and dirt came down just next to them with a loud crash, shaking the ground they were standing on and almost sending them flat on their butts. Following the foot up to the rest of the body, they both took a moment to gape at the colossal stone construct right in front of them. Fatigue momentarily forgotten, they both scrambled to get away from it as quickly as possible.

"What the hell!" Kirche exclaimed once it was clear that it wasn't actually following them. "What is a golem doing on the Academy grounds in the middle of the night!?" she shouted in panic.

"I don't know!" Louise cried back in response, feeling equally terrified.

"**Master, it appears to be heading for the central tower."**

Her gaze snapped back over to the golem and saw that just as Legion was telling her, it was walking with long, thunderous steps towards the tall building that made up the center of the Academy. She watched how upon reaching it, it reached back one colossal fist and, with a sound somewhere between a thunderclap and a rock slide, slammed it into the reinforced wall of the tower.

"Quick, get down before it sees you!" Kirche hissed as she pulled Louise down behind a bush, ignoring the look of irritation the pink-haired girl shot her in return, she continued in a loud whisper. "Rein in your goddamn Vallière-hero complex and think for a moment! If whoever is controlling that golem notices us, it'll flatten us like crepes!"

"Then what do you want us to do!?" Louise hissed back, jerking away from the older girl. "Just sit idly by as it smashes the entire school? I refuse to do that!" They both peeked back out from behind the bush just as the golem reared back for a second strike, holding their hands over their ears as it smashed against the stonework with enough force that they could _feel_ the shockwave from there.

"Legion," Louise called out once the noise had settled back once more. "Please tell me you have something that could damage that thing."

"**We are currently lacking all forms of self-propelled artillery, which would be my first choice in combating something of that size. Barring that, it may be possible to harm it using antimech weaponry accompanied by armor-piercing ammunition."**

"Then bring as much as you can carry, and be quick about it! In the meantime, we'll try to distract the thing before it can cause too much damage." she spoke even as she stood up fully.

"What?" Kirche spluttered. "No! You can't just go and volunteer me for your crazy ideas as you please!"

"Then stay here and cower like a coward if that's what you want!" Louise shouted back at her, momentarily stunning the Germanian with the intensity in her voice. "I won't be remembered as the Noble that stood by and allowed the Tristain Academy of Magic to be attacked without even trying to stop it!"

If anyone had told Kirche a week ago that in a week's time she would be watching Louise de la Vallière charge what could only be described as a _walking siege engine_ on her own, armed only with her wand and nothing more protecting her than the Academy uniform, she would have laughed in their face. And also possibly, probably then set them on fire.

And then laughed at them while they were on fire, too. Probably.

But there it was, happening right before her own two eyes.

"_Gott im Himmel_, I must be going insane." Kirche muttered in exasperation as she, too drew her wand and charged out after her rival.

* * *

Foquet the Crumbling Dirt frowned as despite her best attempts, the wall leading into the Academy vault simply would not yield. She thought that she had struck paydirt when she learned that the wards could possibly be weak to heavy physical assault, and had planned accordingly. She had spent several days pooling the willpower necessary to animate the largest golem she could possibly create and then triggered the Bell of Sleep right before beginning her assault.

So far so good, but now that she was actually hammering on the wall she found that no matter the force she applied to it, not a single crack could be seen anywhere! In hindsight it was clear that she shouldn't have simply taken the professor's word without actually confirming them somehow, but she was getting desperate and now she had nothing to show for it.

But that line of thought was going to have to wait as not a moment later a loud detonation smashed into her golem, followed by a ball of fire impacting against its back. The fireball didn't do much more than leaving a black smear across the stone surface of the golem, but she noted with some trepidation that it was missing half of its head. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead as it had been on the opposite side from the shoulder she was standing on, having only escaped it by sheer luck alone.

Quickly turning around, she saw two of the students standing on the lawn with their wands pointing up at her, idly she wondered just how they had managed to escape the effects of the Bell of Sleep, but quickly decided it didn't matter.

"Oh, great." she sneered at them even as she directed some willpower to reform the lost part of the golem, the magics of the hood she wore instantly changing her voice to the point where it was impossible to tell whether she was male or female. "Some fools out taking a midnight stroll, I see."

"Surrender now, Foquet!" the pink one shouted at her. "We have you surrounded."

"I'd hardly call two against one being surrounded." she snorted. "But if it is a fight you want, I'll be happy to oblige!" Raising one of the golem's arms, she slammed it down right between them, sending the two girls flying in opposite directions with nearly identical, shrill cries. To their credit, they quickly got to their feet and with a rather impressive show of coordination pointed their wands at her in tandem, shouting out identical spells.

"FIREBALL!"

Foquet stood calmly as the fireball launched from the Zerbst girl washed over her harmlessly, its effects completely nullified by the wards in her cloak. The explosion from the other one however came as a complete surprise, not only was it completely invisible but it also missed her completely. Her eyes widened as she reflexively turned to look behind her and saw the spiderweb of cracks in the very stonework she had just been trying to break.

_Zero my ass! The force behind those explosions are insane!_

Quickly moving to capitalize on the moment, she swung the golem's right arm in a wide arc while simultaneously firing off stone spikes from said limb, forcing the two girls to throw themselves away in order to avoid getting impaled. She allowed the swing to carry all the way around before allowing it to terminate against the wall and to her elation, managed to completely smash it this time.

Success!

"Thanks for the assist, children!" she gleefully called out to them as she quickly made her way across the arm of the golem and into the vault itself.

And oh, the riches she found within!

Literal tons of gold and jewels, priceless artifacts and works of art lined shelf after shelf from floor to ceiling and it was only through an act of supreme will that she could ignored it in favor of finding the one thing that she was truly after. Thankfully, the vault was meticulously ordered and it did not take her very long to find the oblong wooden box marked as containing the Staff of Destruction. Quickly checking its contents, she took but a brief moment to marvel over how very… different it looked, yet it perfectly fit the description given to her by the Headmaster himself so there was no doubt about it.

She also very quickly found that it was quite heavy, but that was easily remedied by shaping one of the piles of gold into a smaller cousin of the one outside in order to carry it for her. This of course also served the purpose of bringing what she estimated to be well over 10,000 écu worth of gold, thus killing two birds with one stone.

Chuckling to herself at her own genius, she quickly made it back out the same way she came with her loot.

Back outside she was met with a hailstorm of bullets that forced her to quickly take cover behind the head of the golem with a string of curses as chips of stone flew everywhere. It appeared that in her absence, the Vallière girl had called in that thrice-cursed familiar of hers and had arranged something like a dozen of her own golems armed with those rapid-fire muskets of theirs. In her haste she had forgotten to factor those things into her plans and now she could only curse herself for her lack of foresight.

Well, it didn't really matter anymore. She had what she came for.

Quickly incorporating herself into her golem along with the loot, she turned around to face them just in time to catch an anti-tank rocket right into the golem's right shoulder. Liquid metal sprayed out of the point of impact as the shaped-charge warhead exploded, heat and pressure instantly forcing the copper cone that made up the nose of the rocket into a liquid state. Propelled forward at hypersonic speeds by the force of the explosion it exited the tip of the rocket in a white-hot particle stream designed to pierce the heaviest of armor.

It had however _not_ been designed to pierce solid rock and as thus it only made its way through a small portion of the outer skin of the golem before being repelled.

Still it had been enough to catch her attention and she hurried to replace the damaged rock, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead as she felt herself running low on willpower. She was running out of time. Urging her golem forward, she did her best to trample as many of the enemy golems as she could while she made her way towards the outer wall of the academy in order to make her escape.

To the dismay of the replicant soldiers of Nod and its leader, neither bullets nor rockets seemed to make the massive construct pause in the slightest as it smashed its way through the only true obstacle in its way. They were soon forced to hold their fire as it vanished over the hills and Louise muttered a string of curses as Legion reported target lost.

The first one to say anything after that was Kirche, summing up the entire experience with a single, simple statement.

"Well, shit."

* * *

It is done! DONE! MOAHAHAHAHAHA!

Huh? Oh, no not the story. The chapter.

Blegh, this took me so long to write it's not even funny and I'm STILL not completely happy with the way it turned out. The Tiberium test in particular took forever and a day, I think I must have worked on it on and off for something like six months, rewriting it entirely at least twice. I also noticed that I kind of jumbled the events a little bit, but I'm hoping you'll all cut me some slack on that particular subject.

Hopefully I'll be able to follow them more consistently from now on, as well as keep an update schedule that's a bit more frequent than once a year. Oy vey.


	9. The Thief and the Staff

Hmm. I got a ton of hits for the last chapter, something like 3000 last I checked it, but only about 20 reviews. Well, I suppose that's what you get for not updating in a year and a half, but I still find myself a little… disappointed. Maybe I'll get more if I start keeping a more regular update schedule? Worth a shot, I guess.

Someone said in a review that it was stupid that no one noticed Fouquet's golem what with how much noise it made, seemingly conveniently ignoring the fact that I very clearly pointed out that the Bell of Sleep was in effect. What do you think it was, warm milk?

Bah.

Big thanks to Poliamida for helping me beta this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 9

The Thief and the Staff

* * *

The next morning was a rather subdued affair for the people of the Tristain Academy of Magic aware of the events that had transpired the night before. Most had already been in their beds asleep when the effects of the Bell of Sleep swept across the school and hadn't even noticed anything amiss. The hole leading into the vault had already been sealed once more and even though it lacked the enchantments that it was supposed to have, it would stand up to visual scrutiny and most mundane attempts to break it.

The students ate breakfast, chatted with their friends about the latest things that caught their attention and went to classes as normal.

Well, most of them did.

Two students in particular were absent that morning, but the ones that noticed chalked it down to them sleeping in for whatever reason and went on with their days. The truth of the matter however was that they had spent the whole morning at the Headmaster's office, recounting last night's events in minute detail.

"...And despite our best efforts, the thief then charged right through the outer wall of the Academy and escaped." Louise recounted from where she was sitting in her chair, head bowed in shame.

Sat in an identical chair right next to her, Kirche was leaning forward with her chin in her palm, elbow resting on her knee while the other foot bounced up and down with nervous energy. She hadn't said much during the entire thing, but it was obvious that she'd rather be doing something else than sit around with more than half of the teachers in the school watching her.

"Which would have been around the time I showed up, Headmaster." Colbert said from where he was standing with the rest of the teachers, a tinge of regret in his voice. "If I had only been a little quicker..."

"You probably wouldn't have been able to do anything." Osmond cut him off. "The thief was well-prepared and had surprise on his side, we should be thankful no one got hurt."

"Yes, but..." the balding teacher let out a short sigh before collecting himself once more. "Very well, Headmaster."

"So," the elderly man said, folding his hands on top of his desk. "What do we know about this thief?"

"It can only be Fouquet!" Louise burst out, making all eyes turn to her. Reddening slightly in response to the amount of attention directed at her, she did her best to ignore the feeling of embarrassment she had come to associate with that sort of thing. "There have been reports from all over Tristain describing a hooded figure attacking secure vaults and other fortified locations. He's been using earth magic to turn the walls into mud and then making off with their contents using golems, exactly what happened here!"

"Hmm." he muttered. "Anything else?"

"Well," Louise frowned. "I also seem to recall that he liked to sign his name somewhere at the scene of his heist."

"Definitely Fouquet, then." Professor Chevreuse noted. "We found 'Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt' written on one of the walls."

"We have to go after him, Headmaster!" Colbert exclaimed to the old man, who held up a hand motioning them to be quiet. "We will get to that in a moment, before we get into that there's one more thing I'd like to ask." turning back to the girls in front of him, he swept his eyes across them one by one before speaking.. "I understand the presence of miss Vallière and miss Zerbst, but I'd like to know what your part is in all of this miss Tabitha?"

The girl in question steadily met the aging man's gaze with her own unblinking one, not seeming bothered in the slightest as all eyes turned to her. "Fly with Sylphid some nights." she confessed. "Saw the attack."

"What?" Kirche burst out. "Then where were you last night? We could have really used your help with Fouquet!"

Tabitha shook her head. "Ice poor match against solid rock." turning back to the Headmaster who was slowly stroking his beard with one hand, he nodded at her to continue with her tale. "Remained hidden. Followed thief to hiding place."

"Oh?" Osmond leaned forward, interested in what the young Gallian had to say. "Do tell."

"Headmaster!"

All eyes went to the door as it was thrown open, admitting the Headmaster's secretary who with her hair sticking out of the bun she normally kept it in, glasses askew and breathing heavily seemed to have gotten there in a great hurry. "Ah, miss Longueville!" he exclaimed joyfully. "I was wondering where you had gotten to!"

"S-sorry Headmaster." she panted with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Straightening back up after a few moments, she fixed her glasses with one hand before marching over to his desk. "I have news about the thief's whereabouts!" she proclaimed.

"Oh, er..."Osmond fumbled with his words for a moment. "It wouldn't happen to be out in the woods, would it?"

The green-haired woman blinked down at him in surprise. "I… yes. Some peasants reported a black-hooded figure entering an abandoned shack out in the woods while looking for firewood. How did you know?"

"That must be him!"

He mentioned to the girl sitting behind her. "Miss Tabitha was just telling us how she tracked his path into the forest from the air." seeing the woman slump her shoulders in defeat, he hurried to continue. "B-but it would be good if both of you shared your findings with one-another! I'm sure either of you know something the other missed." he reassured her. A map was quickly brought out from one of the bookshelves and based on the peasants' testimonies and Tabitha's observations it didn't take them long to narrow down a location.

It was when they tried to figure out who to send in order to retrieve the stolen treasure and (hopefully) catch the thief that people started arguing.

"We need to alert the Palace!" Professor Chevreuse shouted with unease in her voice. "Request that they send in the Royal corps to deal with the thief!"

Osmond shook his head. "No that will not work. By the time we even get the message out, he might have already made his escape. This needs to be done right away before he can recover all of his willpower!"

"But Headmaster!"

"No!" the old man shouted at them. "This is something that happened here at this Academy and we are the ones responsible for it! Does a noble stand idly by, watching as a simple bushfire consumes their home? Of course not!"

Taking a moment to settle himself once more, he looked out over the people gathered in the room with him. "Now, I'm going to need volunteers to investigate this. Anyone willing, raise their wands!"

Silence swept across the room, the teachers suddenly all finding other and more interesting things to look at than the Headmaster. The sight of it for some reason made Louise's blood boil, gritting her teeth she shoved herself to her feet.

_We are going to have to act if we want to live in a different world._

The red-headed Germanian at her side tried to say something to her, but she ignored her in favor of pointing her wand towards the ceiling. "I'll do it!"

"Wha-" one of the other teachers, a thin man with hair in a pale shade of yellow spluttered in surprise. "Aren't you just a student? You should just leave this to the faculty of the school."

He shrank back as she sent one of her most forceful glares at him. "I don't see you raising your wand, nor anyone else from the faculty."

A brief stare-off occurred between the two, broken only a few moments later as Kirche let out a sigh. "You're impossible, Louise. I guess I have no choice." pulling her wand out of her cleavage, she raised in the air. "I volunteer as well, can't let a Vallière steal the show now can I?"

"Hey!" Louise shouted, turning to face the other girl. "I don't need your help, Zerbst!"

"Hah." the Germanian scoffed. "You're not that good, Vallière. You need all the help you can get!"

Pausing as they noticed movement off to the side, they both turned to look as Tabitha stood up and raised her staff in the air as well. "Tabitha!" Kirche gaped at her friend. "You don't need to come for this stupid thing, this is between me and her."

"I'm going." the young Gallian stated calmly, turning her head to look at the redhead she added. "Don't want you to get hurt."

Old Osmond chuckled as Kirche grabbed the shorter girl, hugging her to her bosom while making overjoyed happy noises at the care shown by her dear friend. "I guess that's settled, then."

"Headmaster you can't be serious!" Colbert objected. "Sending just three students to handle such a foe is insanity."

"Ho?" he muttered, peering up at the younger man. "Are you saying you'll go with them, then?"

"Er..." the fire mage muttered, suddenly hesitant. "I worry that with two fire mages we'd burn the forest down, so no."

"Harrumph!" he snorted. "These three are all nobles and they have seen the enemy, and besides..." he motioned to the bluenette with glasses "I've been informed that young Tabitha here has the title of Chevalier, proving that despite her age she is already an accomplished mage."

Kirche and Louise both snapped their heads over to stare at her with wide eyes.

"What?"

"Really?"

Tabitha simply nodded, which Osmond took as his cue to continue. "Miss Zerbst is from an accomplished Germanian military family that have produced many great mages, and I've been told she is quite the skilled fire mage."

"Hmph." Kirche smirked in pride, placing one hand on her hip and running the other through her crimson tresses. "That's right!"

"And lastly we have miss Vallière here." Louise automatically straightened at the mention of her name. "Who also comes from a highly respected family that have long enjoyed the favor of the Royal house and," he paused to look up at the pair of the replicant-soldiers who had been standing behind Louise's chair the entire time, dark and sinister with their weapons still held at the ready. "she managed to summon a very impressive familiar that, for all intents are purposes, is an army all by itself."

Some of the faculty members shot uneasy looks at the dark figures in their midst, but they all wisely kept their mouths shut. Some attempts had been made to disarm them after the attack, but these had all swiftly been denied by Legion who insisted on the fact that he needed to be ready should the thief strike again.

"Now, if there aren't any further arguments, I suggest you all go prepare yourself for the trip." He looked up at his secretary standing next to the desk. "Miss Longueville, please make the arrangements."

She nodded and turning to the three girls she said, "Go and make your preparations and then meet me at the main gate, we leave in an hour."

* * *

In Louise's room Siesta first helped the noble disrobe with professional efficiency before assisting her in getting into the armored suit Legion had made for her. In truth, she could have done it all on her own but it somehow felt right to the maid to offer her help in donning it. The whole process only took just over a minute as Louise slipped first her legs and then her arms into the black material, her fingers threading into the gloves attached at the ends. During this whole process, her familiar had been informing her on his own progress as well as what he had been able to glean from their encounter with the golem.

"**From what I have been able to assess of the short battle against the stone construct, the traditional rocket-propelled munitions commonly used in my world does not apply here."**

"You have golems in your world too, then?" Louise asked as she triggered the button just below her collarbone, the curious material of the suit immediately shrinking in response to this until it fit her like a second skin.

"**In a manner of speaking, they were however constructed from metal and ceramics instead of stone, animated through a complicated hydraulic system controlled by a human pilot. Just like a human body these had several weak spots that could be targeted in order to bring it down, something that the golem appeared to lack completely."**

"Of course it does." she pointed out as a matter-of-factly. "They're just earth and rock animated by the caster's will, to destroy them you either need to damage them to the point where they can no longer retain their shape or take down the caster." Grabbing her boots, Louise began the process of latching them into place. "It's just a matter of mass really, a smaller golem is easier to disperse than a large one simply because it has more to hold it together."

"**Acknowledged."**

A few moments passed in silence and finished with her boots, she stood up to allow Siesta to slip the surcoat down over her head.

"**I have altered my current loadout to match these specifications Master, but I will strongly suggest that we construct a War Factory as soon as we have the resources to do so."**

Louise raised an eyebrow at this. "Why? We seemed to have quite a bit left last I checked and that should last us a while, shouldn't it?"

"**They will, but what we currently have available are in truth the emergency supplies meant for the sole purpose of defending the Construction Yard. They were never meant to last for the kind of repeated engagements we have been encountering and it is only a matter of time until they are depleted."**

Siesta shot her a concerned look and Louise couldn't help but frown at the news. "I didn't know it was that bad, how long until we're all out?"

"**At our current rate they will be fully depleted in about a month."**

Louise blew out a sigh of relief. "So they'll last until we handle the thief then, at least. Good to know."

Seeing how the noble was fully outfitted, Siesta did her best to hide her worry and instead offered the younger girl a gentle smile. "Good luck lady Vallière, please be careful out there."

Louise nodded, returning the smile with one of her own. "Thanks Siesta, I will."

* * *

The ride to the thief's hiding place was a rather long and boring one.

Louise sat along with Kirche and Tabitha in a simple wooden cart that the secretary had rented along with the horse pulling it. Along with them they had two replicants sitting at the back and four more walked along the sides of the cart, having no trouble keeping up with it on the uneven forest road.

The bluenette had her eyes closed was resting her head against Kirche's shoulder as they moved along, but Louise was fairly certain she was still paying full attention to the forest around her. The Germanian on the other hand was noticeably starting to nod off and would probably be dead to the world soon.

Louise herself had busied herself with examining the laser pistol that she had finally gotten back from the Headmaster just before they left. Legion had instructed her on how to perform a basic field check; making sure that the front lens was clean, that the connection to the battery was secure and so on.

He had also told her that a more thorough check and calibration could be done to the gun, also pointing out that it wasn't something that she could do at the moment due to the shaking of the cart so there was no point in even trying.

Looking around for something else to occupy herself with, her eyes soon landed on the pair of black soldiers riding along with them and the massive guns that Legion had outfitted them with. They were just over 160 centimeters in length with boxy, rectangular bodies and long, thick barrels that she could probably fit her thumb in. They were fitted with short, but solid-looking stocks in the opposite ends and instead of magazines they had long, flexible feed-chutes attached to the large, bulky backpacks they both sported.

"Hey Legion, what are those?"

"**M2 Browning Heavy Machine Guns, Master. These should give us better odds at handling the large golems than what we had in the last encounter."**

"They look, well... heavy."

"**They are indeed considerably heavier than what would be considered useful for an ordinary human foot soldier, these platforms however have no such issues."**

"Right." she nodded. "Hopefully we won't have to use them."

They relapsed into silence after that and only a few minutes later Longueville announced that they had reached their destination.

"We're here." she called out to them. "The road ends here so we're going to have to walk the rest on foot."

This quickly roused the dozing girl across from her, Kirche stretching her arms over her head with a loud yawn, making Louise avert her eyes in annoyance while Tabitha simply opened her eyes and straightened back up. "Cover your mouth when you yawn, Zerbst."

"I can't help it." Kirche protested. "I'm sleepy from getting up so early."

Muttering to herself about vulgar, barbaric Germanians Louise took the hand that her familiar offered to her in order to help get down from the wagon. The other two followed in a similar fashion and they proceeded cautiously through the forest towards where the shack was supposed to be, trying to make as little noise as possible. Nervous butterflies were already forming in her stomach by the time they caught sight of the shack and they paused just outside it, looking around to make sure there weren't any golems lying in wait for them before proceeding.

"I'll scout ahead." the secretary told them quietly while eyeing the still-closed door of the shack. "Just in case he's lying in wait for us, the rest of you decide who's going inside to check the shack and the rest keep watch."

They all nodded and after a few moments of hushed planning while Longueville snuck on ahead, it was decided that Tabitha would go inside and check if the thief was in there as she had the most experience as a Chevalier.

"I'll go too." Louise whispered. "With this armor I'm wearing and Legion watching outside we'll have a better chance in case he jumps us."

"**Master, I must object against this action."** Legion immediately rumbled in protest. "**Should Fouquet against all odds be ready and waiting for you inside, I will not be able to protect you."**

She narrowed her eyes even as she kept her eyes on the shack. "I volunteered for this mission, Legion." she reminded him. "If I don't go, it would tarnish my honor as a noble!" she said stubbornly, her voice slowly rising in volume.

"**It is not safe for you to go, Master. Allow me to go instead in your place, these units are expendable compared to-"**

"I'm going and that's final!" she said loudly, cutting him off in the process and causing Kirche to snap her head over to glare at her.

"Shh!" the Germanian hissed at her in aggravation. "Not so loud, Louise!"

The two glared at each other for a moment before the pink-haired girl let out a short 'hmph!' and then started walking slowly towards the shack with Tabitha in tow. The door was pushed open slowly by courtesy of Tabitha's staff and once it was clear that it didn't trigger any traps, they carefully peeked in. The inside wasn't really much to look at filled with nothing but old, broken furniture piled in the corners, and a fireplace that looked like it had seen better days.

Tabitha's eyes narrowed as she took the place in and then leaned down to study the floor in front of her.

"No footprints visible." she muttered, meeting Louise's eyes for just a moment. "No dust or leaves, floor recently swept. Signs of habitation."

They both advanced slowly and further in they found a rather clean-looking bedroll and, most importantly of all, a nondescript wooden box that matched the description that they had been given.

"Should we open it?" Louise asked the other girl curiously. "I mean... we should check it's still in there, right?"

Tabitha shook her head. "Might be trapped, better to carry it out as it is."

As they went to carry it back out, two things very quickly became apparent: one, the box definitely wasn't empty, which was good. Two, whatever was in the box was quite heavy which wasn't nearly as good.

"Brimir's toenails, What's in this thing?" Louise grunted as they carried it out through the door. "Gold bricks?"

They were just barely clear of the shack when a massive boulder suddenly came flying from somewhere in the forest, smashing through the side of the building spraying splinters of wood everywhere.

Louise let out a yelp as Tabitha suddenly shoved the box into her stomach, sending them both to the ground as pieces of the shack rained down all around them. Landing on her back, she felt her head painfully thump against the ground right before the heavy crate landed right on her chest, further knocking the breath out of her lungs. Her armor cushioned the blow somewhat, but even then she still had to spend several seconds lying there doing her best to remember how to breathe even as the staccato bursts of gunfire erupted around her.

"Legion!" she gasped, even as Kirche sprinted over to help them. "Report!"

"**Multiple hostiles coming from the east, Commander. I am uploading the telemetry data to you now, stand by."**

Louise hissed as a spike of pain suddenly shot through her head, the world around her becoming blurry for a few moments before slowly coming back into focus. Then the crate was lifted from her chest and hands pulled her to her feet, a very harried-looking Kirche coming into view.

"Come on, Vallière, get up!" she shouted to her over the crashes and gunfire as she hauled her to her feet. She then went to do the same with Tabitha and Louise took a moment the catch her breath and look around. The replicants were spread out in a loose formation laying down accurate bursts of fire at groups of man-sized dirt golems, tearing great chunks out of their bodies each time they were struck.

At first glance it certainly looked like they were winning, but Louise knew they weren't.

It was the strangest feeling she had ever experienced in her entire life, knowledge about everything she looked at just trickling into her brain. She knew without counting that 19 of the clay golems lay spread out across the ground and that another 11 were coming at them between the trees. She could tell just how much ammunition had been expended by her replicants, that one of them was about to require a reload moments before it actually happened.

Like she had eyes in the back of her skull, it was how even with her back turned to it that the giant stone golem had risen into view over the sagging remains of the wooden shack.

"Behind us!" she gasped, whirling around just as it swept one enormous fist through the crumbling building.

It was only by virtue of Tabitha's quick reflexes that they were spared that particular fate, a wall of ice appearing in front of them to intercept the spray of high-speed projectiles before they could reach them. With its task fulfilled, it shattered a moment later revealing that the golem had raised its other fist in preparation to bring it down on top of them and this time it was Louise's turn.

"Fireball!"

The outer part of the golem's shoulder exploded into dust with a bright flash and a loud bang, forcing the arm to tilt slightly to the side due to the sudden loss of mass just moments before it was brought down on them. This changed what would have been a direct hit into a near miss, but as far as direction and monumentum was concerned it was more than close enough.

The ground underneath their feet buckled and split into large chunks as the massive fist, weighing in at several tons worth of rock and dirt slammed into it just over two meters from where they were standing. The force of the blow sent them flying in all directions, Louise found herself tumbling through the air with the grace of a blindfolded hippo trying to swim up a waterfall.

Had it been anyone else of her size and build hitting the ground at the angle and velocity she did, they would have suffered multiple broken bones and most likely a number of life-threatening internal injuries as well. Barring the use of healing magic and expensive reagents, they would have been forced to live out the rest of their lives as a cripple.

But by the grace of NOD and the advanced composite-ceramic armor she wore, it would not be so.

The hard, overlapping plates performed exactly the way they were intended, spreading the force of the impact over a larger area thus mitigating the damage to the point where she was left bruised but alive instead of broken and dead. None of this registered in her mind right at that time however as she was too occupied with the mind-numbing pain she was feeling from every part of her body.

Had the impact not forced the breath out of her lungs Louise would have been screaming her head off, but all she could manage was a feeble, pained whimper. Her ears were ringing and each beat of her pulse caused spots of light to dance across her vision, curling into a ball she could only wait for it to fade.

Soon she was able to make out the sounds of battle coming from nearby, specifically the metallic, staccato roar that could only be the heavy machine guns fielded by her familiar. She just knew, with such perfect clarity that she could almost see it, that he was still out there fighting as valiantly as ever.

_While you are just lying here like the lazy, useless girl you are. _A voice seemed to whisper in her mind.

Fresh fury ignited in her chest and surged through her body like liquid fire, seemingly overpowering the crippling pain that kept her from moving. With leadened limbs doing their best to resist her, Louise grit her teeth as she forced herself up on her knees and elbows. Drawing in a fresh breath of air, she immediately went into a fit of coughing as her body tried to clear her airways of the dust that had accumulated there. The action sent fresh waves of pain shooting through her body and she very nearly collapsed back down, but stubbornly remained in the same position until it passed.

Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she took a quick look around the battlefield with blurry eyes.

She watched how one of her replicants went flying into the woods with terrible force from a single blow from the golem, another just barely managing to throw itself out of the way in time. As if it could feel her eyes on it, the golem suddenly stopped right as it was chambering another blow and then it turned around to face her.

Louise could only sit there as it began to slowly walk towards her, feeling each of its steps through the ground where she sat. The twin streams of heavy, 12.7mm rounds did nothing to halt its advance even as bits of rock and dirt sprayed into the air with each successful hit leaving large craters in its body.

She was in no shape to stand, much less run from the construct and she knew it. Determined to at least go out with the grace and honor of a noble, she raised her head in silent defiance and waited for the end.

* * *

On the other side of the clearing, Legion watched in acute detail as the magical construct continued to get ever closer to his Master, uninhibited by his attempts to slow it down much less stop it. The armor piercing-explosive rounds he employed against it were not even nearly as effective as he had hoped they would be, and he was just about out of options when he spotted the so-called Staff of Destruction through one of his feeds. The millisecond he registered what it was, he knew with absolute certainty that it was not a staff and he hurried to have the closest replicant drop his weapon to pick it up.

The moment it did however, something changed.

Where a moment ago there had been a blank space in his data banks there were now detailed information about the weapon, its specifications and precise ballistics. He knew the exact, optimal way to hold the weapon in order to acquire the highest amount of accuracy while at the same time minimizing recoil, how much charge remained within its power core and much, much more.

Including the fact that it didn't have a smart grip-type connection to allow the wielder to interface with the weapon, so he honestly had no idea HOW any of this worked.

It just… did.

Reminding himself that now wasn't the time to ponder the impossibilities of magic, Legion took aim and after spending an entire second to make sure that all his calculations were accurate, pulled the trigger.

* * *

Louise didn't even have the time to react as a loud thunderclap of pure force split the air and the top half of the golem for all intents and purposes simply ceased to exist. Blinking the spots out of her eyes, she could also see an after-image of what looked like a bright line surrounded by a spiral of sorts passing right through where it used to be. Then the others were there with her, Kirche and Tabitha both sporting a couple more cuts and bruises than she remembered them having last she saw them but otherwise looking no worse for wear. They had been spared landing the way she did almost entirely thanks to the bluenette's skill at air magic, having been able to create an air cushion to slow and stop the both of them before they could be seriously injured.

"Louise!"

She groaned as the two helped her into a sitting position even as the replicants took up positions around her. Tabitha took a few moments to look her over and, after finding no wounds that would necessitate medical attention, nodded in confirmation.

"No wounds, should recover without issue."

"Oh good." Kirche sighed in relief even as she fussed over the girl. "When you went flying like that, I thought you were a goner!"

Louise tried to slap her hands away but quickly found that the less she tried to move, the less it hurt. "Stop that." she mumbled instead. "M'fine."

"Well you certainly don't look fine!"

Just then, the green-haired secretary appeared out of the treeline and spotting the trio on the ground, hurried over to them "Are you alright?" she shouted. "I came as soon as I heard the commotion, but I couldn't get here in time."

"We're mostly okay." Kirche responded. "Louise got the worst of it, though. She might need a healer."

"You think?" Louise groaned. "I feel like I'm one, big bruise!"

Miss Longueville offered her a gentle, relieved smile. "Well, at least you're in one piece. What about the staff of destruction?"

Tabitha motioned with her staff at the replicant holding it and she walked over to it, holding her arms out for it. "May I see it?"

"**Master,"** Legion protested. "**this is a very dangerous piece of equipment, in the wrong hands-"**

"Enough." Louise muttered painfully, cutting her familiar off. "Just… just give her the staff."

"**Very well."**

The secretary sagged slightly as the cumbersome weapon was handed to her and Tabitha's eyes narrowed as she saw her starting to move away from them. "Where are you going? The wagon is in the opposite direction." she said suspiciously.

The green-haired woman paused for just a moment, hands tightening imperceptibly around the object in her hands. "Oh, er..." she said haltingly. "The horses might have gotten spooked by all the loud noises making them run deeper into the woods, so I thought I'd go check."

"While carrying that?" Tabitha asked, pointing with her staff at the railgun which she was already starting to visibly sag under the weight of carrying. "You're lying." she accused, raising it until it pointed straight at the older woman.

There was a few moments of terse silence before as she slowly turned to face them before suddenly snapping the weapon up to aim at them, holding it the way Legion had before. "Oh, not bad." she chuckled even as Louise and Kirche stared at her in shock. "I guess that's a Chevalier for you!"

Four assault rifles and two HMG's immediately snapped up to aim right at her but she seemed unfazed by their presence. "Tut-tut." she said. "I wouldn't do that, I'll blow you all away before you ever have a chance to fire so don't even try it!"

"Wha- miss Longueville!" Kirche exclaimed in shock. "Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"

Louise on the other hand successfully put two and two together, her eyes widening and then narrowing in realization. "You're Fouquet." she rasped.

"That's right." the woman now known as Fouquet said with a smirk. "I was initially going to let you all leave once you showed me how to use the staff, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that anymore now that you've seen my face. Good bye." she called out just before her finger tightened around the trigger.

BOOM!

What Fouquet a.k.a. Longueville had missed, and that Legion had conveniently never mentioned, was that the weapon she was now holding had never been designed to be used as an infantry weapon. In fact, she was probably the first-and-only standard-issue human to do so.

And Sir Isaac Newton never took kindly to people attempting to challenge his laws.

Unused as she was to using any kind of firearm, she had failed to notice several important things. One example of this was how, between the time of her aiming the heavy and cumbersome weapon at them and when she pulled the trigger, gravity had been steadily pulled the muzzle downwards and away from its intended target.

The resulting explosion of a piece of metal hitting the ground at Mach 1, plus the recoil of _firing_ said piece of metal at that speed was more than enough to send her flying backwards with great force. It also had the effect of mercifully knocking her unconscious before she could even register the pain of her collarbone being snapped like a dry twig in a storm.

* * *

Once they had gotten over their shock and surprise, they quickly secured the thief and the weapon and were soon headed back to the school. On their way back, seeing as Louise wasn't really in any condition to do much else than lie on the floor of the cart, the folded up capes of the others under her head as a pillow and wincing at every bump in the road, Kirche asked the question they were all wondering.

"What exactly is that thing and how are we still alive?"

"**This is a Global Defense Initiative model T-573A2 Railgun modified for personal use."** Legion responded in her ear through the comlink she had finally managed to relocate and, was now relaying the information to Tabitha in the same way Louise used to. He was once again carrying the weapon and was currently riding shotgun with the Germanian as she drove the cart. "**It was the personal weapon of the mutant known as the Ghost Stalker and was believed lost when he disappeared after the second Tiberium War."**

"So how did it end up here?"

"**Unknown, but presumably in a similar fashion to my own appearance in this world."** the replicant holding it looked down at the weapon in its hands, now lacking both its power core as well as the magazine of 20mm ferrous-tungsten slugs it used as projectiles. "**As a mutant he was physically superior to a normal human being in terms of strength and resilience and could therefore handle the enormous recoil of the weapon."**

"I thought we were going to die for real when she pointed it at us." Louise muttered from where she was lying. "Why didn't you do anything to stop her before she fired it?"

"**Because based on my calculations of where she was aiming, the odds of her successfully hitting us was less than one percent, Master. Had it not been our mission to capture her I would have shot her the moment she aimed it in our direction."**

She let out a groan of despair, letting one arm flop to cover her eyes. "You could have told me that sooner! Stupid familiar!"

* * *

Louise let out a contented sigh as she let herself sink into the familiar comfort of her own bed.

A quick visit to the school healers had erased most of the aches and bruises she had sustained while fighting Fouquet and a nice, long bath had taken care of the rest. She hadn't had the heart to complain while Siesta fussed over her and each and every mark left on her body after she had helped peel Louise out of her armor and into the bathtub. Combined with a hearty dish prepared by the Head Chef in her honor, she felt quite sated and relaxed by the time she finally went to bed.

Only, sleep wouldn't come.

She just couldn't stop thinking about the day's events, of how once they had returned Old Osmond had told them that he had sent in requests to the Palace for her and Kirche to be awarded Chevalier titles for their bravery.

Her, Louise the Zero, a Chevalier.

The very thought sent strange, excited tingles down her spine and she couldn't help the tiny giggle that made it past her lips before her brain turned to darker things, namely the short but intense battle before that against Fouquet's golems. Her hands curled into fists against the soft material of her bed covers as she remembered being knocked about like a rag doll, unable to get off more than a single spell while her familiar picked up the slack.

The fact that she had reacquired her precious laser pistol hadn't even made the slightest bit of difference, seeing as she never even had the chance to draw it!

_Useless and weak is what you are._

Rolling over to her side, Louise drew in a shuddering breath as she squeezed her eyes shut even as a few tears escaped from the corners of her eyes. "I need to get stronger." she whispered in the dark.

"**Master?"**

"I couldn't do a single thing, Legion. If you hadn't been there today, if you hadn't blown that golem to pieces like you did..."

"**But I was."**

"Yes, but..." she swallowed. "What if you hadn't been?"

"**I will always be with you, my Master."**

"Yes, I know." despite herself, she couldn't help but smile at the confident way he said that. "But even still… I want to get stronger. More capable. I want to become someone worthy of being called your master, Legion. Can you help me with that?"

"**Yes Master, I can."**

* * *

Louise was running.

Not the kind of running you did when something was chasing you, or for that matter when you were running late for something. This was more of a steady jog, something which she had started to become intimately familiar with during the past week-and-a-half as Legion had started her on what he referred to as "light exercise".

She on the other hand had other… names for it. And phrases.

Quite a few of which should never be mentioned in the vicinity of civilized people.

Also, having repeated the words "this wasn't what I had in mind!" so many times both out loud and within the confines of her own mind during these past couple of days it had almost become sort of a mantra to her.

You see, Legion had decided to interpret her desire to become stronger in the most literal fashion possible and had quickly worked out a training regime for her. Being so closely bonded to her meant that not only did he have an excellent grasp on her sleeping and eating habits, but he had readings on things like blood oxygen levels, heart-rate and so on.

What this meant in a practical sense was that he could tell exactly how hard he could push her at any given time, as well as how hard he needed to push her in order to get the kind of results he wanted to see. For a trainer, this was invaluable information.

To Louise on the other hand, he was the ultimate slave driver!

Legion had claimed that he was seeing a steady improvement in her, but she had her doubts about that. The only change she had been able to tell was that her appetite had shot through the roof only a few days into her training. She had also come to immensely appreciate the luxury that was hot baths and had nearly declared her undying love for Siesta after the maid had revealed that she knew how to give massages.

She didn't even want to imagine the kind of hell she would have been in without them!

Running laps around the Academy was just the warm up, after that were a series of various exercises for strengthening her upper and lower body followed by another series of stretches. Then after a short 20-minute break to catch her breath, she then went on to practice her aim with the pistol on the shooting range. She had yet to start any form of blade practice, but he had assured her that would come once she had gained the conditioning to do so effectively.

At least the Tiberium seeding had gone off without a hitch.

The experiment had ended after a full week had passed and they had been able to discern that the runic circles of containment did, in fact, function as intended. The Headmaster, upon being presented with the evidence for this, had then taken it upon himself to inscribe the ground with the design they had developed. It had been very impressive to watch the old mage create the enormous circle, a full 800 meters in diameter, using nothing but willpower and his staff in a matter of minutes.

Not only did he carve it into the ground, he also filled it in with magically reinforced metal that he had promised would not rust for at least a century.

Having finished her lap around the Academy outer wall, she staggered to a stop just outside the main gates. She had quickly learned that despite how inviting the grass was, collapsing down in it to rest without performing the proper stretches first could make it rather hard to get back up again. So she remained on her feet, hands resting on her knees and with sweat dripping down her face even as she fought to get oxygen into her bloodstream.

A sudden breeze swept across the area and she let out a sigh of relief as she felt it caress her sweat-coated skin and clothes in the form of a pair of shorts and a tank top. She had been very hesitant to put them on at first after seeing just how much skin they showed and during the first few days she had insisted on Legion checking every corner ahead of her for people before passing it. It had very quickly become apparent to her just why it showed so much skin once she'd started exercising and soon settled with simply wearing her uniform on top while on the way outside.

A bottle of water appeared in her view, held out to her by the replicant that always ran alongside her during her exercise. It was there not only for protection but also for carrying things like water, her clothes and last but not least a small first aid-kit in case of training-related injuries like scrapes and whatnot.

Quickly snatching it out of its hand, she unscrewed the plastic cap and proceeded to suck down as much of the sweet, sweet aqua pura she could before her burning need for oxygen overrode her need for water and forced her to come up for air.

"Puah!" she gasped, throwing her head back and with the bottle held in both hands, went back to trying to catch her breath.

"**Good job on completing the course, Master. You only needed to stop and rest twice this time, a marked improvement over last week's consecutive three."**

"Yeah, well." she panted. "Don't feel like much of an improvement, I still feel like I'm about to die when I'm finished."

"**Take a few minutes break and then we will continue, today's regiment will consist of 20 push-ups, 20 pull-ups and three sets of 15 repetitions with the dumbbells."**

"What?" she whined in protest. "That's five more than last week!"

"**Yes Master, I know."**

"Fine." she sighed, taking the hand proffered to her by her familiar she pulled herself to her feet. "But there had better be a bath waiting for me when I get back!"

"**Yes Master."**

"And a massage!"

"**Of course."**

Suitably encouraged by the promises of her familiar, Louise went back to her training with gusto.

* * *

"Sooo, Louise..."

Looking up from her meal, fork still held between her lips, Louise met the curious gaze of Kirche across the table they were sitting at. She had been watching with a strange sense of fascination as the pink-haired girl practically inhaled everything set out in front of her, having consumed enough food for three people before Kirche had even managed to finish the one she had.

All while maintaining perfect table manners and decorum, no less.

"I've noticed you seem to have been disappearing a lot lately after class," she said slowly, even as the girl in front of her polished the last bits of food on her plate, drained her cup of wine and then refilled it as well. "and each time you return looking tired and disheveled."

Louise raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, and?" she gestured at her with the silver cup in her hand, its contents sloshing slightly in response. "What I do on my own free time is my business, I don't exactly demand to know what you're up to all of the time do I?"

"True." Kirche admitted with a small shrug before her lips split into a grin. "Not that I'd mind if you did, you wouldn't believe some of the things I've seen!"

Louise rolled her eyes. "I'll take your word for it."

"Oh good." she exclaimed happily. "Now that we've established that we trust each other, you can tell me all about the handsome young man you've been seeing!"

Louise's eyes bulged in their sockets as the wine she was drinking suddenly decided to take the road less traveled and went on a sightseeing tour down her windpipe. Correctly deducing what was about to happen, Kirche calmly leaned sideways in her chair until she was just barely level with the table, thus avoiding getting sprayed as it exited her mouth at what must have been the speed of sound, followed by a violent bout of coughing.

"Oh, that's not it?" she asked innocently, having straightened back up a moment later.

"Wh- what the hell, Zerbst!?" Louise spluttered indignantly. "Are you trying to kill me? Is that it?"

"Oh don't be like that, it was just a simple yes-or-no question."

Louise let out a sigh. "No Kirche, I haven't been out seeing anyone. I've been training with my familiar, that's all."

"Oh." Kirche blinked, sounding disappointed. "So that was it." now it was her time to sigh. "I'm disappointed in you Vallière, getting my hopes up like that. Here I thought you'd finally found someone but all you were doing was practicing for the Familiar Exhibition." she shook her head. "What a bummer."

Louise rolled her eyes and was about to bite off a retort when something the other girl said caught in her mind. "Wait, say that again."

"I said I'm disappointed in you, and-"

She cut her off with a quick motion of her hand. "No, after that!"

Kirche blinked. "Er… I said you were just practicing for the Exhibition instead of living your life?" she then watched with some alarm how Louise went completely pale. "Louise?"

"Th- th- th- th-" Louise stammered. "that's this week!?"

The Germanian winced as the last bit came out in a hoarse shriek that barely even sounded human to her ears. "Yeah, I thought you knew." she said in genuine surprise. "They teachers have been going on about it for days now."

"Oh no." Louise whimpered in despair, holding her head with both hands. "I've got nothing planned!" shooting to her feet, she very nearly tripped herself on her own chair in her haste.

"H-hey, Louise." Kirche exclaimed. "Calm down!"

"Can'ttalkgottamakeplans!" Louise blurted out as fast as she could before she raced out of the room as fast as her feet could carry her, leaving Kirche sitting there looking after her with a dumbfounded expression.

* * *

"Oh this is bad!"

Three days of pondering, planning and brainstorming with Legion had left Louise little more than a nervous wreck. She had barely been able to eat nor sleep since she was made aware of the upcoming Exhibition, putting everything including her physical training and school work completely on hold until it was over.

The day before, she along with the rest of the school had witnessed the arrival of none other than her beloved childhood friend, Princess Henrietta, by means of a gilded carriage pulled by four unicorns. For a brief moment she had entertained the thought that the princess had come for her sake before ruthlessly squashing it, burying it deep within the darkest recesses of her mind.

After all, it wasn't unusual for the high-ranking nobles and occasional royalty to show up to act as judged while simultaneously watching the exhibition in the hopes of spotting the rising stars that might one day be people of great importance. Far more than just bragging rights, it was the perfect chance for young nobles to show their capacity for growth and learning. Many dreamed of catching the eye of someone with a high status with a show of confidence and indeed, it was not unheard of such a thing happening.

For this very reason, being awarded first prize was quite the event despite the fact that the only award was mostly cosmetic; a golden pendant with silver and bronze inlays in the shape of the sigil of the Royal House of Tristain.

She was jolted out of her train of thought as she heard the announcer call out the name of the next person in line, next up being none other than herself. None of the others in her particular class had done much that she would have considered noteworthy with the exception of Tabitha, who had put on a brilliant aerobatic display with her familiar Sylphid.

Before that, she felt she had a pretty fair chance but after seeing that she wasn't so sure anymore.

"**Calm yourself, Master."** Legion's rumbling voice echoed in her mind, his steady presence akin to a mountain of stability within the turmoil of her thoughts. "**All preparations have been made and everything is ready according to schedule."**

"You're sure there's nothing else?" she whispered nervously. "If something went wrong with the princess watching us, I'd die from shame alone!"

"**Master-"**

"Self-combust and explode!" she moaned, holding her cheeks with both hands. "The earth itself rising up to swallow my remains, then I'll spend eternity in the afterlife reliving it!"

"**Master, they're calling your name."**

Louise slapped one hand to her mouth as the announcement almost made her lose her lunch. Swallowing the bile she felt rising in her throat, she took a few deep breaths and after slapping herself lightly on the cheeks a few times with both hands, walked out on the stage.

She looked out over a veritable sea of people belonging to both commoners and nobles, all watching her with undisguised curiosity. Over the years, the exhibition had also become something of a festival with it as the final event-sort of thing with stalls with games and food for everyone with money to pay for it, drawing in people from all the villages around the Academy as well.

Looking off to the side, she saw the judges' platform with them all arranged into a single line to watch her, the princess right in the middle. Hoping beyond anything that her stomach would stay where it was and that its captive horde of butterflies wouldn't fly out when she opened her mouth, she announced herself and her familiar to the crowd below.

"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière!" she called out. "And this is my familiar, Legion!"

Mutterings and whispers immediately rose as not one but well over a dozen of what appeared to be identical, black-armored men marched out on the stage carrying musical instruments in their hands as if they were weapons. Most of them bore violins, a few brought in cellos and two even carried in a large, full-length harpsichord as easy as anything. Following them was a number of the servant staff with a number of chairs equal in number to the replicants and setting them down in neat lines, they all then filed out as quietly as they came.

Quickly settling in, they all raised their instruments into ready positions and after a nod from Louise, they began playing.

It had been a bit of a challenge to find a song that she liked that didn't feature instruments that required the ones playing it to blow into them, such as brass or woodwind instruments. Having neither lungs nor lips, these instruments would be impossible for her replicants to play and some of the songs she heard simply… didn't sound right without them.

In the end, she had simply settled for the same song Legion had first played to her that time in the market; Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.

Well, part of it anyway.

The whole song was nearly 50 minutes long and so after much thinking she had told him to play only the "Spring" section which, she reasoned, was fitting considering summer was right around the corner in Tristain.

Also, she really liked the sound of it.

The sounds of people moving around and the whispers of 'how many familiars does this girl have?' seemed to fade away into nothing as the comforting notes washed over her, instilling a deep sense of calm in her. Actually, they HAD faded away into nothing as the people below her were far too busy listening to music of a type and quality that they had never heard before in their lives.

Synthetic hands slid effortlessly over strings and keys with the care and precision of master musicians, ensuring that each and every note was perfectly on-key and before Louise knew it, ten minutes had passed marking the end of the song.

As the final notes faded, they seemed to leave behind them a great void and Louise saw how many in the crowd were weeping openly, tears pouring down their cheeks either from the great beauty of what they had just heard or by it ending. Or both.

A moment later she was nearly blown away by the thundering applause she received by the crowd, hundreds, maybe even thousands of hands joining together as they cheered for her. With a smile on her face she performed a graceful curtsey followed by the replicants standing and bowing in perfect synchrony, the cheering growing even louder in response.

Yes, hers was indeed the best and finest of all servants.

* * *

Louise grinned so hard she was almost afraid her cheeks would split even as she was being glared at by no less than four pairs of eyes, all belonging to her classmates sitting across from her at the table. Several hours after the exhibition had ended, she had sat down for dinner as usual at an empty table and during the time it took for her to turn her head and get the attention of one of the serving staff, Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche and Montmorency had appeared at the opposite end.

Hanging from her neck and clearly visible to all, the victor's pendant shone brightly as the lights of the room were reflected off its gleaming surface.

"That was cheating, Vallière!"

"You can't just put that many into it at once! The rest of us only have one familiar!"

"How the hell could we even compete with that!?"

They shouted at her, almost at once, with the exception of Tabitha who just kept on reading her while the others went at her.

Although Louise liked to imagine she was turning the pages with a little bit more force than usual.

She just kept grinning even as her food arrived, last was a simple porcelain mug which she had ordered Legion make for her after her victory had been announced. Without saying a word, she slipped her fingers through the loop and then proceeded to raise it to eye-level in a toast, showing that spelled out on the side in bright, bold letters it had the words "RIVALS' TEARS" printed on it.

She honestly didn't even care about the handful of mashed potatoes that was thrown in her face, nor the rest of all that ended up on her in the resulting food fight. She had won.

And victory tasted sweeter than all the food and wine wasted that night.

* * *

That night after taking a sorely-needed bath, Louise went to bed with a smile on her face and fell asleep almost before her head touched her pillows. In her dreams she saw future glories, fame and riches, and an enigmatic bald man who spoke to her about injustices and revenge.

And battle, always she dreamed of battle.

Great armies of gold and white clashed against opponents in red and black like two opposing tides turning back and forth. Guns of all sizes thundered and boomed as they spat their lethal payloads, treads and wheels churned the earth into mud even as the blood of those who fought for it stained it a bright red.

They fought in the forests, they fought in snow, on the plains, on the beaches and in sand dunes that stretched out like the sea itself. Great birds of steel and glass crisscrossed the skies, roaring their fury through guns and engines, blasting apart both the land and the-

"_**Master."**_

Everything faded into a blur of color she could make no sense of and then she was looking down on a series of buildings that glowed from within with a deep, crimson light.

"_**I apologize for interrupting your dream sequence, but your input is required."**_

Suddenly, she wasn't alone in the skies but there was someone there with her. His image was hazy and indistinct, yet at the same time she knew exactly who it was there with her.

"_Oh, hello Legion. What are you doing in my dreams?"_

Meanwhile, in the waking world, the door to Louise's room opened with barely a sound, swinging open on silent hinges to admit a single figure. Closing the door behind them, they slowly crept across the room, avoiding chairs and tables until they reached her bedside. The figure smiled as they looked over the relaxed features of the girl as she slept, blissfully unaware of the unknown person standing at their bedside.

With her name on their lips, the figure reached out with the intention of shaking her awake. They were woefully unprepared for the hand that came out of the shadows to intercept the figure's own, clamping around their wrist with a grip that felt like an iron shackle.

Louise was having a rather pleasant discussion with her familiar about the finer points of resource management when she was suddenly and rudely jolted awake by a loud scream going off right next to her bed. Shooting upright, she didn't even get the chance to ask what the hell was going on when the door to her room was kicked open, revealing the silhouette of a person.

They yelled something her brain wasn't quite awake enough to make out and then launched themselves into the room, the door somehow ending up closed again behind them and throwing the room into darkness once more. It took her several seconds to struggle her way out of the warm embrace of her blankets and then a few more to actually manage to light the candle by her bedside.

During which a violent struggle which she could only make out parts of took place in her room, including a lot of yelling, fists impacting against what she suspected was ceramic armor as well as at least one attempt to do the same with a blade.

When she finally did manage to turn on the lights Louise was presented by a hooded figure and a lady-knight of some sort, held in kneeling positions on the floor by the two replicants that had been guarding the room.

"Unhand me immediately!" the woman hissed, even as she struggled uselessly against the unyielding grip of the one holding her down.

"What- what's going on here?" Louise demanded to know. "Who are you? What are you doing in my room!?"

"**Based on the fact that there was an armored knight waiting outside the door while another snuck in silently, I can only assume an assassination attempt. With your permission Master, I will now proceed with interrogation protocols. One moment."**

"H-hold on!" she tried to protest, but one of the replicants had already reached down and with a single movement pulled back the hood of the first figure.

Louise's eyes widened in horror as she immediately recognized the woman beneath the hood, all of her questions and protests dying on her lips in favor of a single alarmed exclamation.

"_Princess Henrietta!"_

"I'm so sorry, Princess! Please forgive me!" Louise wailed from where she was kneeling in front of the princess, her forehead and both palms pressed against the floorboards.

As soon as it had become apparent just who it was they had captured, their positions had soon become reversed with Louise on the floor and Henrietta sitting on the bed. The lady-knight, now revealed to be the princess' bodyguard Agnes, was standing next to her and had been glaring daggers at the two replicants flanking the pink-haired girl.

"It's alright, Louise Françoise." Henrietta said reassuringly to the distraught girl on the floor. "Nobody was hurt so it's fine."

"B-but your Highness!" Louise protested weakly.

"I don't want to hear any more about it." the princess said firmly, earning a meek nod from Louise. Her eyes softening, she continued in a more gentle voice. "But this isn't how I intended for our reunion to go, my friend. Please stand up so that I can look you in the eye when we speak."

Nodding again, Louise stood up and barely had time to react when Henrietta immediately pulled her into a close hug.

"P-princess?" she stammered in surprise.

"It's so good to see you again, Louise Françoise." the princess whispered in her ear, holding her like that for a moment longer before releasing her with a smile on her lips. "And why don't we forget all those formalities, while we're at it? You're the only one I can open my heart to like this, after all."

Louise blinked once but then smiled. "Yes, Henrietta!"

Tension seemed to just drain out of the room as the two girls chatted happily with one another, catching up with everything that had happened during the long years since they had last met.

"Remember when we chased butterflies in the courtyard when we were little?" Henrietta giggled.

"Yes!" Louise said with a smile. "And then we both got scolded by the chamberlain, Lord la Porte, for getting mud on our clothes."

The princess let out a contented sigh at the memory. "I will never forget the time we spent together, Louise Françoise. Those days were spent in happiness and without worry or concern for the future."

"Those were good times." she agreed fondly. "Do you remember when we played the 'palace game' and fought over who got to wear the dress?"

"Ah, the Siege of Amiens. That was the time we argued over which one of us would play the princess, and I managed to score a critical hit on your stomach."

Louise giggled at the memory. "Yes! And I fainted just like that right in front of you!"

They both shared a laugh at that.

"That's right, Louise!" Henrietta exclaimed, wiping a tear from her eye with one hand. "This is really nostalgic, I didn't think you would remember something from so long ago."

"There's no way I could forget!" Louise said with a grin. "Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, motioning with one hand at the dark sentinels standing at her side. "I completely forgot to introduce you. This is Legion, my familiar that I summoned during the Springtime Familiar Summoning ritual!"

"Oh, yes!" the princess said, stepping closer to get a better look at them. "I was meaning to ask you how you managed to summon so many, but looking at them like this, it would seem that the rumors were true after all." she turned back to Louise, her hands clasped together in excitement. "You did manage to summon a dollmaster after all! That's amazing, Louise!"

"Yes!" Louise smiled brightly, proud of her success.

Off to the side, Agnes had stood quietly in the same spot the entire time, seeing no reason to interrupt the happy reunion of her Highness and her childhood friend. Instead she had been studying the two tall beings which she now knew that despite their very human shapes, were anything but.

This was something she had already come to suspect from the very beginning when, rushing to the princess' aid after having heard her scream, had managed to land a punch right in the face of the one holding her. The fact that her knuckles were still sore from that one strike spoke volumes about how hard she had hit it, as well as how sturdy those things were.

Agnes took her job very seriously, perhaps even moreso since she was a commoner, and had spent a lot of time doing research on things that could harm the princess. Know thy enemy and all that.

It paid to know the strengths and weaknesses of both humans and beasts, mundane and magical, and this had of course included the curious group of familiars called dollmasters. It was said that the first had been one of the four familiars of Founder Brimir and had since appeared only on the rarest occasion, no more than once every 200 years or so. There were variations of course, but in all accounts she could find their summons were often rather obvious in what they were with visible joints and quick, jerky movements.

Terrifying to be sure, but no matter how she tried she couldn't make the connection to the two standing right in front of her at that time.

It would appear that some more research would be in order once they got back and with that in mind, Agnes refocused on the conversation between the princess and the Vallière girl.

"You are getting married?" Louise exclaimed in surprise. "That's wonderful! Congratulations, princess!"

But her excitement quickly waned at seeing the rather sad expression on the princess' face. "Alas, it is not a marriage borne out of love but one of necessity. My groom-to-be is none other than the Emperor of Germania."

"Wha- what!?" Louise asked, flabbergasted. "But why, princess? That country is filled with nothing but barbarians!"

Henrietta gave her a sad smile. "It is for the sake of the alliance between our countries, Louise. Right now there's a civil war in Albion and soon, the rebels will overthrow the Royal Family and the country will be no more."

Louise swallowed. "I'd heard that there was a rebellion going on there but… is it really that bad?"

"Yes." the princess said with a small nod. "The marriage needs to go through before this happens. Because of that the Albionese rebels are now desperately searching for an item, a letter, that if its contents are made public will make such an alliance impossible."

"That's terrible! Isn't there anything that can be done?"

"There is." Henrietta confirmed and turning to face her, she clasped her hands in front of her as if in prayer. "I need for you to go out and find that letter for me, Louise Françoise." she pleaded with her and Louise could see tears starting to escape the corners of her eyes. "I know it's a terrible, selfish thing to ask and I wish there was another way, but you're the only one I can trust with this. The only one I know with absolute certainty would never betray me!"

Louise was taken aback by this sudden request and her eyes immediately went to Agnes who, seeing her eyes on her, just shrugged her shoulders. "As good as I am, I'm still just a commoner." the blonde woman confessed. "I wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell if they sent mages after me."

"And her place is at my side, as well." Henrietta said with a sigh and lowering her gaze to her hands, she spoke in a sad tone. "I really hate to ask this of you, but-"

"I'll do it."

Taking the princess' hands in both of her own, Louise met her surprised look with her own determined, steely gaze. "I'll do it!" she repeated again, louder this time. "On my honor, the rebels will never have this letter!" she declared with confidence.

"Oh Louise..." Henrietta said happily and Louise couldn't help but bask in the radiance of her smile. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Anything for you, princess Henrietta." she said, returning the smile. "Where should I start looking?"

"Look for Prince Wales, he's the one I entrusted with keeping the letter safe." she responded, a hint of uncertainty creeping into her voice. "Last I heard he was still in Newcastle but whether this information is still accurate or not I cannot say."

Louise nodded. "I went on a trip to Albion with my sisters at one point in the past so I know where it is."

The princess sighed. "I just hope we're not too late."

Just about then, Louise noticed out of the corner of her eye how the two replicants suddenly turned to face the door, Agnes following suit a moment later. Parting from the other girl, she took a few steps towards them intent on finding out what was going on.

"What's wro-" she started asking but Agnes held up a hand, motioning for them to be quiet even as she silently moved over to the door with slow, careful steps.

"**There appears to be someone waiting on the other side of this door, Master."**

"What?" she hissed, the princess' bodyguard once more motioning for her to be quiet as she slowly reached out for the door handle and with one swift movement, pulled it open.

"Ouch!" Guiche de Gramont exclaimed loudly as the door he had been leaning against suddenly disappeared, making him fall forward flat on his face in an entirely graceless manner. Rubbing his aching cheek, he looked up to find a very irritated-looking lady knight flanked by a pair of replicant-soldiers staring down at him.

"Please don't kill me!" he whimpered right before they grabbed him and dragged him inside, shutting the door behind them once more.

* * *

"I see." Henrietta said thoughtfully as they all stood in a semicircle around the chair with the blonde boy they had just finished interrogating. "You saw us come this way and then decided to eavesdrop on us through the door."

Louise folded her arms. "It's totally suspicious!" turning to the her, she said "Don't worry, princess. I'll make sure to dispose of him quietly for you so that he doesn't blab about the mission to anyone!"

"H-hey!" he protested weakly.

"I concur." Agnes said, sharing a look and a nod with her. "He's a liability and we can't trust him."

"Now h-hold on just a minute!"

"Now, now." the princess said with a smile. "I'm sure he didn't have any bad intentions in mind." tilting her head slightly, she regarded the nervous boy sitting in front of her. "Would you?"

Guiche swallowed nervously at the hidden threat in her words. "O-of course not!" he shouted "I would never betray your Highness! I swear on the name of Gramont!" he insisted loudly in desperation.

"Gramont?" Henrietta asked curiously, her voice softening somewhat. "I know of a General Gramont, could it be that you are somehow related?"

Guiche nodded eagerly in confirmation. "Yes, your Highness! I am his son."

"I see, yes I can see the family resemblance." the princess relaxed slightly and offered him a small smile. "Your father is a great and brave noble mister Guiche, if you are of the same bloodline then perhaps you could be of assistance to this troubled princess?" she said.

"Yes!" he responded in an almost giddy tone. "As you command!"

Louise nodded in confirmation, a resolute expression on her face as she turned to face the princess "We'll leave for Albion first thing in the morning!" she declared, raising a fist in emphasis to her words.

Henrietta smiled at her and reached out to her, pulling her into a tight embrace "Please be careful," the princess whispered to her. "and come back safely."

Louise closed her eyes and pressing her face into the taller girl's shoulder, she nodded.

"I will."

Deep within the systems of the NOD Command Center, Legion's mind churned as he examined the problem from every possible path and angle. After the princess and the others had left and the Master had gone back to bed, he had set out to find out additional information from whatever source he could find.

Had there been a global network of information available to him, this task would already long have been over but lacking that he was forced to pursue a more… old-fashioned way of gathering the intel he needed.

Which would be asking questions and reading books.

To say that Legion was displeased with the arrangement would be a bit of an understatement.

Still, he pressed on.

Thankfully, Professor Colbert was still awake at this hour and was available to respond to some of his questions as well as point him in the direction of the books that held what knowledge he did not. Once he had managed to amass what he considered at best to be an acceptable level of intel, he wasted no time running it through his tactical assessment routines.

The answers he got were… highly unsatisfactory.

Which was why he was now doing the A.I. equivalent of pacing back and forth as he tried to find a solution to the problem.

Enemy strength: Unknown.

Enemy level of organization and supply: Unknown.

Target location: ...Unknown.

. . . . .

This was bad.

No, Legion corrected himself, this has long since crossed the limit of what could be called bad and was now firmly into the territory of 'highly suboptimal'!

The only true silver lining was that the Tiberium seeding had gone off without issue, so they were once more in supply and no longer had to rely on emergency stocks. This had enabled them to continue with base expansion and now had both an Operations Center and a War Factory, increasing their odds substantially.

However…

Albion was a floating island nation, something which Legion found downright disturbing and had spent more time than normal trying to find out just how this was possible, finding out about the existence of windstones in the process. He certainly found them interesting and already had several ideas on how he could use them, and it was with some reluctance that he put the subject into his research queue and resigned himself to researching them at a later date.

Now, back to the subject at hand.

The simple fact was that neither of these buildings could offer anything that would be of use in this situation and he had immediately started construction on an Air Tower, but he doubted it would be ready before the Master's departure. Even then, it would also take some additional time to build any form of aircraft but at the very least they could be used to support her if needed.

Also, speaking of the Master…

She was the real issue in this equation, not even a full month into her training and she was already being sent out on a covert ops-type mission which also presented him with yet another issue; what would he send out alongside her to protect her?

The replicants he had constructed for her until this point had been made only to serve as guards and frontline troops and even though they had served this purpose with distinction, they simply lacked the complexity required for a search-and-retrieval mission.

Employing human wave-tactics in a situation more suited for a team of commandos was a little like using a sledgehammer to solve a problem necessitating the use of a scalpel; it might work depending on the situation but generally it wasn't not a very good idea. He pondered for a brief moment about simply altering their design, but quickly discarded this thought.

This was a new purpose and a new design was likewise required to fulfill it.

Drawing inspiration from the countless logs belonging to NOD Commando units both past and present, Legion had soon formulated a design that matched his parameters. Based on the fact that the current generation were all women, he considered making its appearance of that of a female but quickly discarded the idea as unnecessary. The "Femme Fatale"-type look was an effective tool for infiltrating social events and the, but there was no need for that this time.

Once he was finished, he carefully looked over every aspect of the design one final time.

It would be a little shorter and thinner than the other models, this was so that it would be possible for it to fit into smaller and more confined spaces, but it did have the trade-off that it could not fit as much muscle mass as the other models. This would be compensated by using denser, more high-quality fibers and he deemed the trade-off to be acceptable.

Also, based on what he knew of the thought patterns of adolescent humans there was a slight chance that his Master would feel more at ease with a form that was closer to her age, which would be advantageous to her morale.

Statistically all of this should have been enough to even the score and he wracked his systems to try and come up with anything else. The battle against the thief, Fouquet came to mind and he recalled how despite the fact that it should not have been possible to do so, he had somehow managed to perform a telemetry upload to his Master.

It was one of those things he was supposed to do as per protocol when and if the Prophet was facing a threat of a certain level, something which had not occurred until this point. Not even when she was briefly held hostage during the events in Mott's mansion had that happened, as such a thing had been part of their hastily drawn up plans of attack.

Facing down a multi-ton construct doing its best to turn her into paste on the other hand…

The Maker had implanted himself with some very specific cybernetics to be able to receive that exact sort of thing, but for all he knew the Master had none of these, a fact backed up by the repeated scans he had done of her body.

Still, it did present him with some very interesting ways of inserting knowledge straight into her mind, in theory.

Browsing through the vast library of knowledge that he had intended to impart onto her over time in the form of education and training, he searched for something that would be of use to her on this mission. He needed to be careful with this, as there was a distinct possibility that if he sent her too much too soon it would overload her learning centers which could cause serious damage to her cerebral cortex.

And that was something he'd see himself be reduced to slag before intentionally doing.

So it was with great care that he finally selected a single skill-catalogue out of several thousands and after wrapping it with the best code he had, sent it down along the connection he shared with the Master.

Now, all that he could do was wait.

* * *

There.

Phew… I can't say I'm totally, perfectly happy with this chapter but it's going to have to do. I find it very difficult to write both Tabitha and Henrietta but hopefully I did them well enough that I don't get murdered by someone in my sleep.

I mean, if you do that I won't be able to write anymore, right?

Right?

Oh and in case anyone is interested, Newton's Three Laws of Motion are as follows:

First Law:

An object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force.

Second Law:

The sum of the forces of an object (F) is equal to the mass (m) of that object multiplied by the acceleration (a) of the object.

Third Law:

When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.

If you enjoyed, please leave a review and I'll see you next chapter!


	10. Off to Albion

I got some really good reviews for the last chapter and it makes me really happy that people seem to be enjoying this story as much as I enjoy telling me. To show my appreciation I try to make sure to always respond to your reviews as best as I can, although I have to admit I usually don't respond to ones that just say "good chapter" and the like. But if you have questions, suggestions or opinions you'd like answered just put them into the review and I'll get right back to you with a response as soon as possible.

I don't really mind getting reviews from guest accounts, but if you're using one of those please keep in mind that I can't respond to those through the site page. So I'm thinking I'll start responding to the few that I get it in the beginning of future chapters like this.

Animesniper: I've been frequenting the C&amp;C wiki since I first started.

A big thanks to my beta, Poliamida for helping me beta this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 10

Off to Albion

* * *

Louise let out a huge yawn as she tightened the belt holding the saddle in place, just barely holding back a second as she went to make sure that no part of the saddle would be rubbing against the horse.

Next to her, Guiche had just finished setting up his own horse and had taken a step back to admire his handiwork. She felt that the boy was having way too much energy at such an early hour, and it was starting to grate on her nerves.

When he started going on about the princess' beauty and wisdom for the fifth time in a row, Louise finally had enough. She loved her friend dearly, but even she had her limits.

"Shut _up_ Guiche!" she snapped at him. "I don't care how much you worship her highness, but at least do me a favor and do it quietly!"

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning." he grinned. "It's not my fault, Vallière. I can't help but be excited at being sent out on a mission by her Highness, the princess herself!"

"Yes, well. Get over it." she muttered. "I didn't sleep well last night, okay?"

She had gotten used to dreaming of great and terrible battles between armies, but last night had been very different. Instead of large groups of people, it was just her and a faceless, shadowy opponent fighting each other in a staggering array of stances, counterstances, strikes and blocks. Over and over she tried to defeat her ethereal foe but no matter what she did, none of her attacks landed the way they should have. Completely ignoring even the fact that no punch, kick or strike she performed was the same.

It was easily the most annoying dream she'd ever had!

Whatever it was, it also seemed to carry over into the waking world as she had woken up to sore muscles and a splitting headache. Almost as if someone had put her to sleep last night using a club and then went on to apply it to the rest of her body as well, just to make sure they got the job done. She had considered going to the school healer for it but ultimately decided not to, she had a mission to complete after all.

Finally satisfied with the saddle, she turned her head to the pair of replicants standing nearby. "Is everything ready for departure?" she asked.

"Yes, Master."

"Good, then let's… not..." she blinked, her brain suddenly catching up to the fact that she had heard that voice through her ears and not as a rumble in her head, and she finished with an eloquent "Huh?"

Next to her, Guiche also looked over at them with a curious look on his face as he likewise had not expected to hear the response from her mysterious (and often terrifying) familiar.

"Did I just hear…?" he began, only to trail off as the two replicants stepped aside to reveal a third figure, previously hidden from view, standing between them.

Standing only slightly taller than Guiche, he was wearing a set of heavy NOD combat armor scaled down to fit his smaller frame with a traveling cloak on top, but what really set it apart was one significant feature.

He wasn't wearing a helmet.

Instead they were greeted with the face of a young man with pale, blemish-free skin and a head of short, platinum-blonde hair that looked like it had originally been standing straight up only to be blown back by a great wind until it lay mostly flat against his scalp. What made it truly obvious that he wasn't human was the fact that he lacked visible ears, instead there was a layer of some sort of rigid, black material covering the sides of his head that joined together in the back.

Then there was his eyes.

They were a bright citrine-yellow in color with black scleras, making them stand out even further than they normally would.

Neither of them could suppress the shiver that ran down both of their spines as they looked into those unnatural orbs and Guiche couldn't help but let out a small whimper at the sight of them.

"Oh god." he whispered in horror. "I think my nightmares are manifesting."

Raising a shaky hand to point at him, there was a shiver in Louise's voice as she spoke "Wha- wha- what… what the hell, Legion?" she stammered.

The person in front of them blinked once before raising an eyebrow with an expression of mild confusion on his face. "Master? What's wrong?"

"Why are you looking like that!?" she demanded, her voice rising a few octaves.

He briefly looked down at himself, as if to confirm that everything was in place, before raising his head to face her again with the same look of confusion still in place. "I'm afraid I do not understand the question, Master."

She took a deep breath and tried again. "Why are you," she pointed at him "looking like that," she then turned to point at one of the regular replicants standing to the side of him "instead of like that?" she finished.

He turned briefly to look at where she was pointing before refocusing on her again. "In order to avoid attention during stealth insertion-type missions it is advantageous to keep our numbers as low as possible." he explained evenly. "With this in mind, I designed this platform to serve you as a lone operative in place of a full squad."

Turning slightly he revealed that he was also carrying a sizable backpack that looked to be stuffed to the brim. "I have already taken the liberty of bringing all the supplies you might need for the duration of the mission and I am ready to go on your order, Master."

Louise massaged her brow for a moment as she once again tried and failed to understand the thought patterns of her familiar.

"Let's… let's just get going already." she said finally, letting her hand fall back to her side.

"Yes Master."

"Ah!" Guiche exclaimed suddenly, causing her to look over at him. "Hey Vallière, would it be alright if I brought my familiar along with us?"

Louise raised an eyebrow at the odd request. "Why are you asking me that for?" she asked "You're a noble, of course you can bring your familiar along!"

He beamed at her. "Then allow me to introduce you to my familiar, Verdandi!"

She took a few moments to look around before turning to him with a small frown. "Well, where is it? I don't see anything."

"Master," Legion called out to her and she noticed he was carefully studying the ground near where they were standing. "I am detecting something approaching us rapidly from below ground."

She was just about to ask him to clarify what he meant when a mound of dirt suddenly rose up right next to her, a furry brown creature emerging from it. Jumping back with a startled yelp, she watched as Guiche immediately came over to it and started fawning over it.

"Oh Verdandi!" he exclaimed happily as he hugged the large creature, it making happy chittering noises in return for his affection. "Are you well? Have you eaten your fill of earthworms yet?"

Next to her, Legion watched this with a sort of detached sense of interest. "It appears to be a… rodent of unusual size, Master."

"It's a giant mole." Louise agreed. "Guiche, you _do_ know we're going to Albion, right? How do you expect to bring a creature that travels by digging underground to a continent that's in the ai- hey!"

At the end of her sentence, she suddenly found that the giant mole had started sniffing her and before long had poked its nose inside her clothes. She let out a loud yelp as she felt its cold nose against her skin and using both hands she quickly tried to ward the large creature away from her.

"Master!"

"Guiche!" she shouted in irritation and embarrassment. "Get your lecherous familiar off of me!"

"Don't be rude!" the he protested. "She's not being lecherous! Although this certainly is odd." he admitted a moment later, rubbing his chin with one hand as he studied the actions of his familiar. "It's almost as if she's searching for something."

"I don't care!"

"Hmm." he muttered for a moment before his eyes widened slightly. "Hey Vallière, are you by any chance carrying any form of jewelry on you?"

"What?" she blinked before reaching into the front pocket of her blouse, producing the Water Ruby ring that she had received the night prior. "I only have this, but- ack!" she exclaimed as the moment she did so, the mole redoubled its efforts to reach it.

"Enough!" she shouted at it, sliding the ring onto her finger she closed her hand into a fist while covering it with her other. "I won't allow you to have this priceless ring given to me by the princess!"

To Louise's great surprise, the giant mole was abruptly removed from her by a powerful gust of wind not a second after she shouted that. She watched as the animal was sent tumbling over the ground, letting out a warbling cry of distress as it did so.

"Verdandy!" Guiche cried out in alarm as he hurried after his beloved familiar, leaving her standing there in the same pose with a surprised expression on her face.

"Did… did I do that?" she wondered aloud.

Legion was at her side a moment later along with the two replicants, but she quickly noticed they were facing in a different direction.

"So sorry about that." a new voice cut in and her eyes widened a moment later as she recognized it. "I didn't mean to be so harsh about it, but I couldn't simply stand by and do nothing when a girl is being assaulted right in front of me."

Turning fully to face the owner of the voice which, she idly noted was the same direction her familiar was facing, she saw a man sitting on top of a magnificent griffin wearing the colors of the Tristain Griffin Knights.

"Viscount Wardes!" she shouted in surprised recognition. She also noted with some alarm that he was looking in her direction with a hostility in his eyes that she had never seen before, sword-wand grasped firmly in his right hand.

It wasn't until she noticed the gun barrels out of the corner of her eyes that she realized the reason for his behaviour was the pair of assault rifles aimed at him. Hoping to defuse the situation before it could get out of hand, she immediately ordered Legion to stand down.

"Wait, don't shoot!" she shouted hurriedly. "He's friendly!"

Legion looked between the man standing in front of them and his Master as he tried to gauge the danger she was in, not happy about the prospect of letting a potential enemy get to her. But orders were orders and he wasted no time lowering the rifles back into the at ease-position, muzzles pointed down at the ground.

"Complying."

Wardes visibly relaxed when he saw that he was no longer being aimed at, but still maintained a certain bit of wariness towards the trio of faux-people even as Louise came running over to meet him.

"Are you alright?" she immediately asked him, worry clear in her voice.

Wardes nodded at her in return. "Yes I'm fine, although I think I should be the one asking you that, my Louise." he said before taking a moment to look her over.

"I… yes, Viscount." she stammered, unable to resist blushing at the concern on his handsome features.

"Good." the smile he directed at her made her heart flutter, looking back over at the trio behind her along with the young, blonde noble who was only now making his way back to them, he added "So, are you going to introduce me, Louise?"

"A-ah, yes!" she stammered. "That's my familiar over there, Legion." she said, pointing at him with her index finger. "And that's Guiche de Gramont."

"Ah." Wardes noted with some recognition as he looked at the boy. "The son of General Gramont, correct?"

"Y-yes, Viscount Wardes." Guiche responded, performing a respectful nod while slightly out of breath. "Pleased to.. Haah.. make your acquaintance." he panted.

"Um, Viscount." Louise said, pausing to swallow her suddenly dry mouth as he looked over at her. "N-not that I mind or anything, but why are you here?" she asked him.

"The princess asked me to accompany you." he answered. "She was worried that even with the aid of your familiar and Mr. Gramont here, you would be in danger and unable to complete your mission. As your fiancé, I was the natural first choice and I of course immediately accepted." he said with yet another smile.

"Whaaaat!?" Guiche exclaimed, his eyes wide as he looked at the two. "He's your fiancé?"

"Oh." she she said, ignoring Guiche in favor of returning his smile. "Well you came at just the right time then, Viscount. We were just about to leave."

"So I see." he said with a nod. "Then we must leave with all haste, my Louise." Louise gave out a surprised yelp as he suddenly reached down and picked her up in a bridal carry. "You will of course accompany me on my griffin while these other two will have to follow us from the ground."

"V-Viscount!" she stammered out nervously. "This isn't necessary! I can walk!"

"Perhaps, but I like this way better." he chuckled. "Now let's be off, Albion awaits!"

* * *

Unseen and unnoticed by either the machine or his Master, Kirche watched the group leave from the window of Tabitha's room in the dormitory tower.

Despite the fact that they were nearly the exact polar opposites of one another, the two enjoyed a rather close friendship and Kirche had a tendency to hang out in the quiet girl's room from time to time.

In the beginning, it had been just to ensure that Tabitha wasn't sitting in her room all alone, something which she considered to be downright harmful. But it had eventually gotten to the point where they almost had actual discussions about things instead of just Kirche talking while Tabitha read her books.

It was still like that most of the time, sure, but little was still better than none.

Right at that moment however, Tabitha had actually lifted her gaze from her book and was now looking right at her friend with a nearly blank expression.

To most, this look wouldn't really mean much but to Kirche who had worked hard learning to understand her friend, it actually said quite a bit.

Right at that moment, her eyes seemed to say "_Aren't you going to go after them?"_

"Nah." Kirche said with a small shrug, propping her chin up with her hand as she watched them disappear into the distance. "I doubt they really need our help with this one. I mean, two-timing nature aside, Guiche isn't _that_ bad of a mage and that griffin knight looked pretty capable."

Tabitha raised an eyebrow, her lips pressing together slightly into a narrow line.

"Eh. Vallière's got Legion with her, she'll be fine. Probably."

Not really sharing her friend's optimism, she shook her head mutely a few times before lifting her book back up into reading position.

"I do say so! And besides," Kirche reached down into her cleavage and pulled out the comlink that she still carried, much to Tabitha's distaste. "I still got this thing, so if they need our help I'm sure they'll call."

The younger girl let out a deep sigh through her nose and lowering her book just enough for Kirche to see how she was rolling her eyes at her, she then went back to reading.

"Love you too, Tabitha."

* * *

It took them a full two days to reach the port city of La Rochelle.

Situated on Gallia's northern coast and hewn out of the very cliffs themselves by skilled earth mages over countless decades, La Rochelle was the place to go if one wished to book passage to Albion.

As a nation floating in the skies thanks to the massive deposits of windstones present beneath its soil, it could not be reached by traditional means. Instead they used vessels referred to as airships that had windstones attached to the inside of their hulls, allowing them to sail through the air.

It _was_ possible to reach it using a flying mount, but this was normally only reserved for emergencies.

When they finally did arrive, Wardes excused himself saying that he was going to find someone to take them to Albion.

"Alright." Louise nodded, feeling rather fresh next to a noticeably sagging Guiche as they stood at the front gates of the city. "We'll go find ourselves somewhere to stay, then."

"I usually stay at the 'Goddess' Temple' when I'm here." Wardes suggested, pointing in the direction of the massive tree that was used to load and offload the airships he added. "It's just by the entrance to the port itself, right by the roots. You can't miss it."

"Yes I think I know where it is." she responded with a small nod. "I'll see you there, then."

"Oh thank goodness." Guiche moaned as the Viscount moved ahead of them with his griffin in tow. "I can't wait to have hot food and sleep in a real bed again."

"As much as I agree with you, just standing here whining about it won't get us a room." she remarked. "C'mon, it shouldn't be far."

Thankfully, Wardes' directions proved accurate and it didn't take them long to find the Hotel in question.

When they were asked how many rooms they needed, Louise considered getting a suite for her and Wardes to share but ultimately decided against it.

So three rooms it was; one for each of them.

As her familiar and lacking the need to sleep and therefore had no use for a bed, Legion would of course stay with her in her room.

Guiche had immediately claimed the closest one for himself and as soon as he the door opened, went straight for the bed.

"Wake me when it's time for supper." he groaned against the silk sheets.

After settling in herself and spending some additional time freshening herself up after the trip, Louise ordered Legion to prepare all the necessities for her to take a bath while she headed downstairs. Passing through the dining area, she found her fiancé sitting at one of the lavishly decorated, spotless tables.

He smiled at her in greeting as she sat down to join him. "How did it go?" she asked.

"It was difficult, but I managed to book us passage to Albion." he said with a slight frown. "But the ship won't be able to leave until the day after tomorrow."

"What?" Louise said. "But this is a very urgent mission! If we wait too long..."

"I know." Wardes said, holding his hands up in a calming gesture "But tomorrow is the time when the moons overlap, pulling Albion closer to the mainland. Trying to take a ship through those air currents would be suicide, so we might as well relax for a day while waiting for the event to pass."

"I… guess you're right." Louise finally relented, letting out a sigh of defeat in the process.

"Good." he smiled at her before his face grew serious once more. "Now, mind telling me why you decided to split us into separate rooms instead of renting one we could both share?" he asked.

Aaand there it was.

She knew of course that he was going to ask about it, but it didn't make her feel any less guilty about it. "I-It just didn't feel proper for us to share a room, Viscount." she said, averting her eyes from his.

"But why?" he asked, disappointment clear in his voice. "We're engaged, are we not?"

"But we're not married yet!" she stubbornly objected, still unwilling to meet his gaze.

There was a few moments of terse silence following her outburst before she heard him sigh.

"I see." she finally looked up to see that he was watching her with one eyebrow raised. "Well if that is your wish I will honor it, but if that is the case then why are you allowing that boy to stay with you?"

"W-well, that's… he's not a _real_ boy." she protested. "And he's my familiar, so I don't see the problem."

"So it is true, then?" Wardes asked. "I'd heard that you had managed to summon something, but the accounts seemed to differ from time to time so I wasn't sure what to think." he mused out loud. "I thought him some kind of manservant at first, so I was rather surprised when he not only came along with us but somehow managed to keep up with us while on foot. But if he's your familiar then it makes sense."

"And since we're on the subject..." he leaned forward, elbows resting on the surface of the table and his eyes boring into hers. "What is he then?"

Louise swallowed once as she tried to come up with a good answer to that. Legion was just so many things that it was difficult to classify him in the normal categories. While it was true that his central core was housed in what could only be called a building, he was so much more than just a simple residence so she couldn't call him that.

A spirit? No there was nothing spiritual about him. Her protector? That was true for a great majority of all familiars already.

Thankfully, she was saved from answering this question as a third voice cut in.

"I am her familiar."

Neither of them had noticed his approach so it was with surprise that they both turned to find the very subject of their discussion standing right there before them.

"Her loyal servant." Legion continued, no emotion in his artificial eyes as he watched the man before him. "I fail to understand the reasoning behind these questions, as this should be known to you already."

Now it was Wardes' turn to feel uncomfortable, a strange chill running down his spine as he looked into those unnatural, amber-on-black eyes.

"I, uh…" he cleared his throat once. "I simply wanted to be sure that the familiar of my fiancé was strong enough to defend her." he said at last, trying to ignore the way it felt like his soul was laid bare before that unblinking gaze.

"Since I was summoned to her side, my Master has endured several assaults on her person by people whose resources and experience far exceeding her own." Legion stated simply. Raising a hand to motion to Louise, he continued. "And yet despite all this she is now sitting right here in front of you, whole and undamaged. A testament to her own resourcefulness as well as my ability to defend her."

As he allowed his hand to fall back to his side, Louise turned her wide-eyed gaze from her familiar over to Wardes, watching how the man worked his jaw a few times in preparation for his response.

"Your name was Legion, correct?"

He nodded slightly in confirmation. "Yes."

Wardes stroked his goatee for a moment. "Is the name an abbreviation of some kind? Or does it simply refer to you being 'One who is Many'?"

"Yes."

"Yes to which one?"

"Both."

The man ground his teeth in irritation for a few moments. Getting answers out of this one was like squeezing water out of a stone! "Still," he said at last, "I would like to test your abilities for myself."

"Very well."

"H-hey, wait a moment here." Louise protested weakly, making them both turn to look at her. "I don't think this is a very good idea, I mean..." she gestured at her familiar. "He doesn't even have a sword or anything!"

The reason sounded lame even to her ears, but anything was better than watching her fiancé get shot full of holes as she doubted Legion had thought to bring rubber bullets. She sure hadn't!

"What am I, chopped liver?" a tinny, elderly voice cut in, much to her despair.

"Oh no." she sighed, bringing one hand up to massage her brow even as Wardes' eyebrows rose in surprise. "Don't tell me..."

Without a word, Legion pulled up one side of his traveling cloak to reveal the hilt of Derflinger from where the sword was strapped to his waist.

"Heya, pinkie! Fancy meeting you here! Bwahahaha!"

"A talking sword?" Wardes asked curiously. "Interesting."

* * *

"I can't believe you decided to take him with you!" Louise muttered to her familiar later that night as she was getting ready for bed.

"Apologies, Master." Legion responded calmly. "In the interest of keeping a low profile, I felt it prudent to bring a more conventional weapon."

"But why him, of all things?"

"Derflinger was available, so I brought him."

The blade was currently being sharpened by Legion, bringing the whetstone that Louise had gotten from Colbert down the length of the edge with slow, deliberate moments.

"Ohh, that feels nice, partner!" the sword remarked.

"You shut up!" she hissed at him before letting out a loud sigh. Her thoughts went to her fiancé and the sparring duel that had been decided would take place at noon tomorrow. She knew that if the physical capabilities of the replicants was anything to go by, Legion's current form was nothing to sneeze at.

"Just… just promise that you won't kill or maim him." she pleaded with him.

"Yes Master."

"Promise!"

"I promise."

* * *

"The conditions of this duel is simple." Wardes said as they stood facing one another in the courtyard the next day. "The first one of us to either lose their weapon or otherwise end up in such a situation that they can no longer fight, loses."

He was facing his opponent wearing only his white dress shirt on his upper body, foregoing his coat for better mobility.

He still wore his hat, though.

Legion on the other hand wore the same traveling cloak he had done the entire trip, parted slightly as to allow him to reach Derflinger's hilt more easily. He had yet to draw the sword however, arms hanging loosely at his sides as he watched his opponent in a rather dispassionate manner.

"Very well, I accept these conditions." he said.

Off to the side, Louise and Guiche were watching it with rapt attention.

"Is… is this really a good idea?" the boy muttered, hand involuntarily going to his side where he still bore the scar from his own duel with Legion. "Not that I doubt the Viscount's abilities or anything, but I can't really see this ending well."

"How do you think I feel?" Louise hissed agitatedly in return. "Even if Wardes did by some chance win this duel, he might be in such bad shape he won't be able to continue the mission!"

"At least I got him to promise not to hurt him too badly." she sighed.

Down in the courtyard the combatants had begun to circle one another. Or more specifically, Wardes had begun circling while Legion remained in the same spot, turning slightly every so often so that he was facing the man at all times.

Wardes began by performing a number of quick feints with his sword to test his opponent's reactions, frowning when it failed to produce even the slightest hint of a response.

Having correctly judged that none of the blows aimed at him would hit based on muscle movements, Legion remained in place while he analyzed Wardes' movements. Thus when the first blow actually came, he was more than prepared for it.

Quicker than the fastest of vipers, Derflinger left his scabbard with such speed that the blade seemed to almost materialize in Legion's hand in order to intercept the blow that otherwise would have struck his right shoulder. To his credit, Wardes only showed a moment of surprise at this before refocusing on the fight once more.

Quickly regaining his sense of equilibrium, he proceeded to test his defenses by unleashing a hailstorm of blows. Trying to find a weakness, any kind of weakness, that he could exploit to his advantage.

He found none.

If Wardes could be compared to a storm; tireless and all-consuming, then Legion was akin to a fortress. Resolute and unyielding.

Despite the fact that he was using only his right arm and wrist to move his sword, each blow was met with just the bare minimum of force and movement to stop it and it wasn't long before he disengaged once more.

Carried aloft on a cushion of air, Wardes cleared the entire length of the courtyard in a single leap. Putting himself a good ten meters from where Legion was still standing in a matter of seconds.

"Not bad, not bad." he acknowledged. "Let's up the ante a little, shall we? Wind blade!"

Gathering his willpower into his wand-sword, Wardes performed a single horizontal slash in Legion's direction. The action launched a vaguely fin-shaped projectile consisting of highly compressed air pressure, held together by magic and razor thin, racing through the air towards him.

He fully expected him to try and dodge or otherwise avoid it, as anyone else would. But much to his surprise, the golem-like "youth" simply stood there and waited for it to hit him.

"Dodge, Legion!" Louise shouted from the sidelines, but in a seemingly total disregard for her order he remained in place.

Legion looked down at the long tear in the front of his traveling cloak, revealing the black ceramic chestplate and the thin line that had now been scored into its surface. Running the fingertips of his left hand across it, he took a few seconds to assess the damage before giving a small nod in Wardes' direction.

"I am reading a structural integrity loss of 1.2% to my front armor section." he observed with a tone bordering on indifference "Impressive, Viscount."

The man in question just stared at him blankly for a few seconds before responding. "You… were supposed to dodge that." he said. "Why didn't you?"

"I have not yet had the opportunity to analyze the damage done by wind-based magic." Legion calmly stated, as if taking a straight hit from a mage was simply an observational event. "The knowledge of how it works will be very useful for me in order to devise countermeasures in the future."

"Now," he said as he assumed the pose of someone just about to attack, knees slightly bent and blade held out in front of him "my counterattack will begin now. Prepare yourself, Viscount Wardes."

Wardes' eyes widened as Legion shot forward like a bullet, the runes on the back of his right hand, which he hadn't noticed until now, shining brightly as he did.

_Well,_ he thought grimly as he assumed a defensive pose, _if that's how you want to play._

His polished blade flashed in the light, little more than a blue as he sent three quick, successive wind blades towards the incoming familiar in the span of a single second. The first one aimed directly at him while the following two went slightly on each side to handle any attempts to dodge the first one.

Legion became a blur as he dodged the first of the wind blades, reappearing again for a brief moment only to dodge the second and then the third as well. The next thing Wardes knew Legion was right in front of him, blade raised in preparation to strike him, and he instinctively raised his own sword to block it.

CLANG!

The force of the impact very nearly sent him to his knees, painful vibrations shooting down his arms to the point where he swore he felt his teeth rattle. Forcing himself to quickly regain his balance after being hit with what felt like a blow from a sledgehammer, he tried to retaliate only to find another attack already heading his way.

Hissing out a string of curses, Wardes placed his left hand against the flat of his blade and angled it just so that it would deflect the strike instead of stop it. Sparks flew as one sharp piece of metal skittered off another, Legion briefly losing his equilibrium as the kinetic force of his strike sent Derflinger pointing out and away from its intended target.

Seizing the opportunity, Wardes continued the movement of his blade to deliver a punch with the hand wrapped around the hilt right into Legion's face. Most people would be quite disoriented after a strike that made your brain bounce around in your skull, making it a very effective counter against your average person.

Sadly for him, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that would agree to using words like "most people" and "average" to describe Louise's familiar.

Wardes would soon be among these, as almost immediately following the strike that had enough force to make him turn his head away from the viscount, Legion simply turned his head right back and gave him a dull look, as if saying "_Really? That's all you were trying to do?"._

Without missing a beat, Legion then proceeded to reach up with his left hand to clamp it directly over Wardes' face, fingers gripping the side of his skull, and _pushed._

Louise and Guiche watched with wide eyes, the former with her hands covering her mouth, as the unexpected move sent the man flying backwards with enough force to make him airborne for a few seconds. Upon making contact with the ground once more, speed and momentum sent him skidding backwards across the flagstones a good couple of meters before finally terminating against a pile of old barrels. Most of them old enough that they broke upon impact, sending splinters of old wood flying everywhere.

Wardes groaned in in agony, half expecting for Legion to finish him off as he lay there, pain and disorientation preventing him from moving for much longer than he would have preferred.

With their opponent in such a vulnerable position, most would have walked up to them to check up on them, either to help them back to their feet or deliver the last blow. But Legion remained standing in the same spot, watching and waiting until almost a full half-minute later, Wardes climbed laboriously back to his feet.

His fine dress shirt torn and stained by sweat, dirt and a bit of blood from his impact against the barrels and the sharp splinters that ensued, Wardes looked like he had lost a fight with some big animal. He had lost his hat at some point during the tumble but his sword remained tightly gripped in his hand. Breathing hard, he glared balefully at his opponent who calmly met his gaze in turn.

Legion, in stark contrast, remained looking almost exactly the same since the beginning of the duel, the sole exception being the one slash across his chest. Not even breathing hard - as he did not need to breathe in the first place - he showed none of the regular signs of exertion, much less exhaustion. Something which seemed to frustrate Wardes even more.

"Are you satisfied now, Viscount?" he asked in a flat tone. "Otherwise we can continue at your leisure. However, considering your present state I would not recommend this particular course of action."

When no response came, Legion raised an eyebrow and was just about to repeat the query when he noticed that the Viscount's lips were moving silently.

Almost as if he was chanting something.

"Partner!" the sword in his hand suddenly shouted. "Watch out! He's charging up for something big!"

Legion narrowed his eyes as Wardes thrust his sword-wand forward, sparks dancing off of it as he released a burst of willpower into the surrounding air. Strong gusts of wind immediately and suddenly came together as one, striking the spot where he was standing with massive force. The flagstones crumbling as if a great, invisible hammer came down upon them.

But Legion was no longer there.

Already moving by the time he detected the meteorological anomaly, Wardes once again found himself face to face with the terrible, blank-faced being that his fiancé had summoned to this world.

This time however, the attack did not come in the form of a downwards strike aimed at him, but as a powerful sideways-blow at his sword that sent it flying out of his hands. Thus unarmed, he could do nothing but watch as Legion pulled his fist back in preparation for a punch and then sent it in a beeline straight for his face.

"STOP!"

And stop it did.

Mere centimeters from touching his nose, Wardes' vision was filled by the visage of a tightly clenched fist, black as the abyss itself, as it halted its progress just before hitting him. A moment later there was a great rush of wind as the force of the blow made itself known, ruffling his already windswept hair in the process.

"Yes, Master. Withdrawing as per your orders."

As suddenly as it came, the fist disappeared and Wardes had to blink a few times as spots danced across his vision.

Stepping away from the man, Legion returned Derflinger to his scabbard with a faint 'clink' sound before turning away and walking back towards Louise. The girl came rushing over a few seconds later, kneeling at his side with a worried expression on her face.

Wait, hold on. Kneeling?

Wardes frowned as he noticed that yes, he was currently sitting on the ground, and it bothered him immensely that he hadn't even noticed it happen.

"Viscount! Are you alright?" Louise asked worriedly as she noticed the blank look on the man's face as well as the time it took for him to turn to look at her. "Viscount?"

"I'm… I'm fine." he rasped out, only to go into a fit of coughing a moment later.

"Wardes!"

"I'm fine!" he repeated a moment later, perhaps a bit harshly judging by the way she recoiled from him. "I'm sorry." he said immediately when he noticed this. "I'm just… just a bit winded that's all." he said, offering her what he hoped would be a comforting smile.

Louise's features were noticeably tinged with worry as she returned his smile before she tried helping him back to his feet. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know he would be so… violent." she apologized.

"No, no." he muttered, wincing in pain a moment later as every cut and bruise on his body made itself known.

"Viscount!" Louise exclaimed in alarm as she she noticed his back for the first time. "You're bleeding!"

"Yes, I noticed." he said dryly as he slowly made it to his feet, hissing slightly as he felt the wind jab at his wounds.

"We need to get you to a healer." she said worriedly, placing his arm over her shoulders to steady him. For which he was rather thankful.

"I think you may be right, my Louise." he agreed with a groan. Briefly looking around, he added "But before we go, would you mind helping me relocate my sword? I'd rather not leave it lying around here."

"Y-yes, of course!"

* * *

Little over an hour later, Louise was sitting in her room staring at the Water Ruby and the letter of introduction she had gotten from princess Henrietta.

After taking Wardes to a healer and having his wounds tended, the man had gone straight to his room to rest and she suspected it would take him at least a few hours before he was back in shape. Water magic was amazing when it came to fixing injuries and it hadn't been long before all splinters and dirt had removed and all his cuts and scrapes were gone as if they had never been there at all.

But the body still needed time to recover fully on its own, but at least he was able to rest without pain.

Still, she had felt quite bad seeing the state he had been in which was why she retreated to her own room and, lacking much else to do, ended up looking at the two items in question.

She'd been finding herself doing this ever so often lately. At first it had just been to make sure that they were still there, but more and more she had begun doing it while thinking of what to say when she actually met the man she was looking for.

But despite how many times she tried to come up with something, it never sounded very good to her in her head.

Sighing, she picked up the ring and after turning it over a few times in her hands, gingerly slid it onto her left ring finger as if it was an engagement ring. Looking at it for a few moments, Louise quickly shook her head before pulling it back off.

"Maybe someday." she muttered to herself, sliding it to sit on her right middle finger instead.

Oddly, the ring seemed to fit perfectly no matter what finger she put it on. She'd even tried putting it on her thumb and then on her pinky without any sort of issue.

Maybe it had something to do with the magical nature of the ring?

Well whatever, she figured it was as safe on her finger as it was in any of her pockets so she might as well wear it.

The letter on the other hand went into a pocket she had asked to be sown on the left arm of her blouse, right on the inside of the bicep area. She reasoned that no one was going to look for a letter there of all places, so it should be reasonably safe.

Letting out a sigh, Louise looked over at her familiar who had been standing by the side of the door out of the room the entire time. He had been oddly silent since the duel, even more than usual, and she had caught him looking at the back of his hand from time to time.

It still felt really strange to not only see him having any sort of expression as well as actually hearing him speak like a normal person, but she felt like it was getting easier to accept. Her eyes went to his chest where he had taken Wardes' wind spell to see that the tear in his cloak was almost gone, having begun repairing itself soon after the fight had ended.

She hadn't even bothered to ask this time, but she was pretty sure that the explanation for it would be something technical as usual.

Still, she could easily see how something like that would be useful. Maybe it would also be possible to apply it to her school uniforms?

She made a mental note to ask Legion about it once they got back from the mission, but for the moment she had other things she wanted to ask him about.

"Legion." she said, making him look up from examining his hand yet again. "What's on your mind?"

He looked at her for a few moments with those strange eyes of his before finally speaking. "During my fight with Viscount Wardes, a set of runes appeared at some point on the back of my left hand." he explained.

"Well, yeah." she blinked "It's your familiar runes, isn't it?"

Legion nodded. "Indeed, I assumed the same thing as well at first. But this particular sequence of runes does not match the one that appeared on the replicant-platforms I have constructed for you thus far."

Louise raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Legion, that's simply not possible." she stated firmly. "The familiar's runes doesn't change unless you get summoned by someone else. That's how it's always been since the time of the Founder himself!"

"And yet it is so." he said, briefly running a thumb over the characters engraved into the back of his gauntlet. "Furthermore," he continued "I also noticed that these runes appear to have somehow altered the performance of this platform. Something which I never previously experienced regardless of situation"

"While they were active, I was considerably faster and stronger than what should have been physically possible for me to achieve without substantially increasing my energy output."

"Well, I..." Louise blinked a few times. "Hm." she muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "That _is_ kind of odd." she finally admitted.

Had she been hearing this from, say, another person she might have had some doubts about whether what they were telling her was actually a fact or just something from their point of view.

But this was her familiar she was talking about, and Legion wasn't exactly prone to exaggeration any day of the week.

"That's 'cause those are the Gandalfr's runes, partner."

They both looked over to Derflinger who was still lying on the table where Legion had performed a post-battle examination of the blade to ensure that it hadn't suffered any damage.

"What are you talking about, sword?"

"Just what I said, pinky!" the sword chuckled. "I was pretty surprised too, don't think I've ever had someone get those runes AFTER they acquired me!"

Louise raised an eyebrow down at the blade, folding her arms she asked "Okay, what's so special about them, then?"

"Whaddaya mean, don'cha know already?" Derflinger exclaimed incredulously "An' here I thought you were the smart one here!"

Feeling a vein throbbing in her table, Louise glared daggers at the sword.

Noticing his Master's level of irritation starting to approach dangerous levels, Legion spoke up in an attempt to bring the discussion back on track. "I, too, would like to know the significance of these runes."

"Well, since you're the one asking partner!" the sword finally relented. "The Gandalfr's none other than the Left Hand of God, one o' the four Familiars of the Void!"

Every person near the hotel looked up as a loud cry of "_WHAAAAAAT!?"_ echoed through the area, rousing anyone taking a nap and spooking great numbers of birds to take off into the safety of the skies.

* * *

In another, less reputable part of town at roughly the same time, the door of a particularly seedy bar called 'The Golden Barrel' was pushed open by the hand belonging to a hooded figure.

With a few locks of green hair escaping from the sides of the hood, Mathilda de Saxe-Gotha A.K.A. Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt, examined the patrons of the bar with a critical eye.

Not long after she had been caught and imprisoned, her mysterious contact with the white mask had visited her inside the prison itself. Somehow reaching her without any of the guards noticing him, he had criticized her failure to obtain the staff right off the bat and had questioned whether she really was as good as her reputation implied.

She had, of course, taken offense to this and had retorted with the simple fact that the situation had been considerably more difficult than she had been led to believe.

Even ignoring the fact that the "staff" in question had been incredibly heavy, fighting off a horde of heavily-armed golems armed with impossible weaponry had NOT been in the job description!

"_We are well aware of this."_ the man had told her, "_Which is why we're giving you this second chance at redeeming yourself."_

"_You will go to La Rochelle, there you are to use your golems to keep Louise de la Vallière from boarding the ship to Albion."_

"_Do this,"_ he had told her, tossing a wand into her cell to clatter at her feet "_And we will forget this particular failure ever happened."_

He had left her alone after that, and it had been a trivial matter to escape with access to her earth magic once more. And so here she was, in a place she really didn't want to be in to perform a deed she really, _really_ didn't want to do.

Although appearing calm on the inside as she stepped inside and sat down at a table near one of the corners to order some food and drink, she was seething on the inside. Who the hell did these Reconquista bastards think they were, ordering her around like this?

Thus, when her food and drink finally did arrive she didn't really pay much attention to how much she paid the barkeep and it was only when he remained in place that she even bothered to look up at him.

"That's, uh… that's a lot of money." the man said with a dumbfounded expression on his face, staring at the pile of money in his hands. "Is this really alright?"

Right, that was slightly over twice as much as he had asked of her. Well…

"That includes lodging, of course." she said smoothly. "You do have rooms empty, do you not?"

The barkeep almost jumped at hearing her cultured tones, only nodding before leaving her table.

None of this had escaped the notice of the various men present in the bar, many of them now watching her with undisguised interest. Many of them were mercenaries that had once been under the employ of the Albionese royalists, having abandoned their clients when it became clear that they were facing their imminent defeat.

As mercenaries, their one and only loyalty was to gold and neither of them felt any obligation to fight to the death for another person's cause. Besides, it wasn't _really_ desertion if you never belonged to the nation in question in the first place, right?

They had been busy drinking and toasting themselves and each other over their successful escape, but this was quickly forgotten in favor of this mysterious woman. The hood prevented them from seeing much more than the lower part of her face, but what they did see told them that she was rather beautiful.

But more importantly, she had gold.

As soon as the owner had left her table, several of the men stood up to walk over to her.

"Excuse me, miss." one of them said, his voice dripping with false courtesy. "We couldn't help but notice you sitting here alone, this is a dangerous place you know?"

"Yeah," another one chimed in "there's a lot of unsavory characters around here. But don't worry, we're here to protect you."

The woman remained silent even as the man who had spoken first reached out with a grin to tug her hood back from her face. Whistles and catcalls erupted from the crowd as they saw the elegant beauty hidden beneath.

Matilda could endure their gazes on her easily enough, but when one of them reached out to touch the fair skin of her face she pushed it away from her with a firm hand, giving him a faint smile.

Not a second later, she found herself suddenly facing a dagger held in her face by another patron.

"Don't act so coy, woman!" the man grinned at her "No one who comes here is innocent any longer, so drop the act. You came here looking fer company, didn't ya? Well we're it!"

Showing no fear despite the fact that someone was pointing a dagger at her, Matilda quietly reached for her wand and quickly muttered an incantation under her breath. The look of surprise on the man's face was priceless as the dagger in his hand suddenly turned into mud, falling to the ground in useless clumps.

"She.. she's a noble!"

The men immediately backed away from her in both fear and confusion as neither of them had been able to spot any of the tell-tale signs of nobility on her.

"I'm a mage yes, but I'm not a noble." she corrected them in a rather laid-back, nonchalant manner.

"You are all mercenaries, correct?"

The patrons of the bar all exchanged worried looks with one another. Normally, doing something like what they had just done would be a death sentence against a noble, but if she wasn't a noble then that meant that their lives weren't in danger, either.

One of the older, more experienced mercenaries that had remained sitting, content in letting the young 'uns have their fun, now stood up and approached her. Dressed in hardened leather armor that bore the scars of many battles, creaking slightly as he moved, he came to a stop before her and folded his arms.

"Aye, we are. Who are you, then, and what business might you have with us?"

She smiled. "Does it matter? All you need to know is that I'm here to hire you." she swept her eyes across the group. "All of you."

The veteran looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face, mirrored by a great number of his colleagues.

"What?" she asked, raising an elegant eyebrow at him "Is there something wrong with me wanting to hire mercenaries?"

"No, it's just..." he trailed off for a moment before continuing "You have the gold for it, then?"

Matilda responded by placing a large bag on the table which, upon hitting the surface of the table, gave off a clearly audible jingle signaling it was filled with coins.

As the men examined the coins to ensure that they were in fact the real deal, the door opened once more to admit a man wearing a white mask. The same man that had helped her escape from prison.

"Well, well. I was beginning to wonder when you'd show up." she said, turning to look at him as he walked over to her. Her eyes narrowed imperceptibly as she noticed he was walking with what looked like a limp in his step.

How curious.

The mercenaries all gave him a wide berth, sending wary looks at his odd choice of dress.

"I have done as you asked and hired these men." she told him.

"Hmm." he said, taking a moment to examine the men. "You all used to work for the Albionese royalists, correct?"

The veteran nodded. "Until just recently, yeah." he smirked "But that was then and this is now, we hold no loyalties to them any longer."

A round of laughs and chuckles rippled through the gathered crowd of men.

"Good." the man with the white mask said. "I will sate your desire for gold, but make no mistake. I am nothing like those good-for-nothing, soon to be defeated nobles." he stated in a cold voice.

"If you decide to accept my money, then let me tell you this." he said ominously, hard eyes glinting behind his mask. "If you try to desert without finishing the job, I'll kill you myself."

* * *

Legion looked up from where he had been studying his Master's sleeping form to the lone window of the room, a small frown on his synthetic features.

It was nighttime and most of the city was asleep, including Louise and her two traveling companions. He knew that sometimes people came to hotels at odd times, but the fact that there were so many of them appearing at the same time was more than just a coincidence.

He immediately walked over to where he had stowed the pack containing his Master's necessities and started putting it on. At the same time, he sent a signal through the port that he had found through trial and error led to Louise's dreams.

"**Master, I need you to wake up."**

The result of this came a moment later as Louise shot up in a sitting position, looking around herself with bleary eyes and a look of confusion on her face.

"Wha- whazzat?" she mumbled.

"**You are in danger right now, we must hurry and prepare to leave immediately."** his voice rumbled in her mind.

Louise struggled weakly as she found herself helped out of her nightgown and into her clothes with a speed so fast it seemed to happen near-instantly. "What? S-Slow down, Legion!" she protested "What's going on?"

"**I have detected multiple heat signatures converging on this building at this very moment, Master. Judging from the way they are spread out and positioned, they are preparing to assault it and I would recommend that we get out before we are overrun."**

"What? You can't be serious-" she started saying but stopped abruptly when she heard what sounded like porcelain breaking from somewhere downstairs, followed by the sound of someone shouting.

Snapping her head up to look at her familiar, she saw him frown with a far-away look in his glowing, amber eyes.

"**It appears that they have breached the perimeter."**

Stepping away from her, he moved over to stand by the side of the door in preparation to take down the first person to try and make their way inside. "**Make haste, Master. I will stand guard and ensure that no one will enter the room before then."**

"I..." shaking her head once to try and dislodge some of her grogginess, she hurried to follow his instructions.

Almost fully dressed, she was just in the process of fastening her cloak with the school broach when the doorknob suddenly rattled as someone attempted to open it. Louise had the brief hope that it might have been either Guiche or Wardes coming to check up on her, and was just to call out to ask who it was when she heard a key being slid into the lock and turn.

The silhouette that appeared in the doorway belonged to neither one of them, instead belonging a rough-looking man she had never seen before. She couldn't really see much of what he was wearing, but she caught the light coming from the corridor behind him glinting off of the blade in his hand.

"Hello? Room service!" he chuckled as he stepped inside, only to be grabbed by the steely hands belonging to her familiar.

Bone met hardened alloys and armor-grade ceramic as with a firm grip on his shirt, Legion pulled the surprised man in for a brutal headbutt that effectively cut off whatever else he was going to say. Dazed and confused, the would-be assailant had no time to react as the synthetic reached out and grabbed his head in both hands and proceeded to snap his neck.

Louise could only stare in horror as the man slumped bonelessly to the floor, dead before he even hit the ground.

"You… you killed him." she accused him in a horrified, half-whisper.

"**Yes, Master."**

"B-but-" she stammered, staring into the dead man's glassy eyes "But… why?"

Legion shook his head "**We can discuss the morality of my actions later, Master. There is no time. We must go now before more arrive."**

Louise swallowed hard and nodded. "R-right, just let me get my wand and then we can-"

She was cut off as she suddenly heard a loud, girly and utterly terrified scream that she instantly recognized as belonging to Guiche come from the room next to hers.

* * *

Just like anyone else, Guiche had been absolutely terrified when he woke up to a pair of dirty, mean-looking men barging into his room unannounced with their swords drawn. Screaming bloody murder, he scrambled to get away from them but only ended up getting tangled in his blankets followed by him falling out of bed.

The two men were still laughing by the time he managed to untangle himself and stand up.

"W-what- who are you!?" he shouted in alarm "What are you doing in my room?"

Finally managing to get his laughter under control, one of them turned to his buddy with a rather sadistic grin on his face. "This snot-nosed kid looks like the right one, doesn't he?"

"Yup." his partner confirmed "He fits the description of the blonde boy. That's one o' them, alright."

"What do you want with me?" Guiche demanded fearfully, pressing himself against the wall next to his bed as he stared at the two men with wide eyes. "Is this a kidnapping?"

"Sorry, kid." the first one chuckled even as he walked around the bed to reach him "This is nothing personal, you hear? It's just business."

Guiche could see him bringing his sword back for a strike and he desperately tried to reach for his wand only to find he didn't have it on him. He cursed inwardly when he spotted it lying on his bedside table on the other side of the bed, right where he had put it before going to sleep.

_Is this how I die?_ He wondered silently even as the man loomed over him.

Despite himself, he found himself unable to move an inch as fear overcame him and he screwed his eyes tight in preparation for the blow that would end his life.

But the blow never came.

Instead he felt something warm splatter his face and what sounded like a wet gurgle coming from the man in front of him, followed by the thump of a body hitting the floor.

"Guiche de Gramont."

His eyes snapped open upon hearing his name to find his assailant lying on the floor in front of him in a pool of his own blood pouring out from where he had been run through. Looking up he found de la Vallière's familiar standing over him, his menacing yellow eyes glowing in the dark as blood dripped from the blade in his hand.

"Are you unharmed?" the apparition before him asked.

Guiche could only stare in mute horror at his savior for a few moments before he finally found his voice "Y-yes!" he stammered after a couple moments of checking himself for wounds "I'm alright!"

Satisfied with his answer, Legion nodded once before he turned around towards the doorway again. "If you do not require medical attention, then I suggest you hurry up and get your things. We are leaving."

Scrambling to his feet, the young noble wasted no time getting across the bed to grab his wand before hurrying to get his clothes.

"Will you at least tell me what's going on?" he asked while pulling his shirt on.

Legion turned his head slightly, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. "As you can see, it appears we are being attacked."

"But who's attacking us?"

"Does it matter?" he replied, turning to face the doorway once more "Now hurry, my Master is waiting and we are short on time."

The room secured, Legion stepped back out into the corridor that was now littered with the bodies of the men who had tried to stop him on his way to save the Gramont boy. He had of course objected when his Master had told him to save him, but Louise had been insistent and in the end he obeyed.

Luckily, it appeared that Viscount Wardes had recovered enough from their duel that he was able to successfully repel his own attackers. Legion had arrived in the corridor just to see a pair of men literally fly out of the Viscount's room just before the man himself appeared in the doorway, fully dressed and with his sword in hand.

"You go see to the boy, I'll defend the stairs." Wardes had told him.

Finding his reasoning tactically sound, Legion proceeded to do exactly that.

When they met up with him a few moments later, he was breathing hard and there were quite a few bodies lying at the end of the stairs. He smiled grimly when he noticed them, his eyes softening somewhat when he saw Louise.

"Good, you are fine." he said with relief. "Come," he said, motioning with one arm down the stairs "we need to hurry to the docks. With the four of us together we should be able to make it without much issue."

Louise nodded "Lead the way, Viscount."

The bar downstairs looked like a warzone with bodies strewn everywhere amidst broken glasses and furniture. More than few of the patrons had objected to a bunch of armed mercenaries trying to sneak in and a fight had quickly broken out.

It was obvious that they had put up a good fight, but simply by the fact that the mercenaries had been both armed and armored while they were not had only made it a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

Louise tried hard not to look at the bodies and the blood as they passed them on the way out and was rather relieved when they finally made it outside.

* * *

They were very nearly at the docks when Wardes held up one hand, motioning for them to stop with a small frown.

"Hold." he called "There's something up ahead."

Turning to Guiche, he said "Gramont, can you use your earth magic to find out what's ahead?"

Standing hunched over with his hands resting on his knees as he tried to catch his breath, the blonde noble nodded. "Y-yes I believe so." he panted.

"Good, then you're up."

Pulling out his wand, Guiche closed his eyes and started chanting under his breath. While he was doing that, Wardes turned to look at Louise who had taken the opportunity to sit down on a bench to catch her breath.

"How are you doing, Louise?"

She took a deep breath and blew it out before giving him a reassuring smile. "A little winded, but otherwise I'm fine."

"Yes, I couldn't help but notice that you don't seem to be having that much trouble keeping up with the pace." he noted. "I'll admit, I didn't expect that."

"W-well..." she muttered, feeling strangely embarrassed for some reason. Maybe it was due to her conversations with Legion or the way she sometimes caught him looking at her with that calculating look in his eyes, but she felt very hesitant to tell him about her weekly training schedule.

Clearing her throat, she continued with as much pride as she could muster "I am the daughter of the Heavy Wind, after all!" she boasted. "It shouldn't be so strange for me to have superior physical ability compared to my peers." she said while giving a meaningful look in Guiche's direction.

Wardes studied her for a few seconds and she was relieved to see him smile as he seemed to accept her line of reasoning. "Yes, this is true. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see someone of her bloodline showing great promise even before reaching womanhood."

"Ahaha, yes, of course!"

They both laughed together for a few moments at this before settling back down.

"Louise." Wardes said, still smiling "There was something I wanted to talk to you about." he started saying, but paused when he noticed Guiche's eyes snap open, a wide-eyed look of alarm on his face.

"Something really big is coming!" he shouted suddenly with a sense of urgency in his voice "Everyone scatter!"

Louise drew in a sharp hiss of surprise as Legion suddenly grabbed her around the waist and leapt backwards with her in tow. She could see Wardes doing something similar using air magic to send himself away while Guiche simply took off running.

And it was a good thing they did as only a few seconds later, a massive fist made from rock and dirt smashed right on top of the spot they had been standing moments earlier.

"A golem!?" Louise shouted in surprise as they landed safely back on the street, staring up at the uncomfortably familiar mound of animated earth she could see a figure standing on its shoulder.

"Fouquet!"

"Ohohoho!" the woman on top of the golem laughed as she looked out over the people below her. "How good that you remember me!"

"How did you escape prison?" Louise shouted up at her "I thought you were supposed to be behind lock and key by now!"

"Yes, thinking never was your strong suit it seems." the thief sneered at her, making her grit her teeth in irritation.

"Why you-!"

"**Master."** Legion's voice interrupted her in her head, making her look at him. "**Go with Viscount Wardes to the ship and start getting it prepared for take-off."**

"What?" she hissed in a low whisper. "What about you?"

"**I will keep her busy alongside mister Gramont and we will join you as soon as the ship is ready to leave."** he said while drawing Derflinger, the runes on the back of his hand lighting up in a bright blue color.

"What are you whispering about over there?" Fouquet shouted down at them. "Ignore me all you want, it won't make me go away!" she said gleefully as she had her golem pick up a large piece of rubble from the ground and hurled it at them.

Legion saw it coming of course and once again he experienced the odd sensation of knowledge appearing in his systems. He already possessed a great deal of information regarding swordfighting that had been accumulated through the history of mankind, but they all described how to fight other humans. This on the other hand was… something else.

His first instinct and the most logical course of action would have been to use his own body as a shield to protect his Master before engaging the golem. It made sense.

He most certainly would NOT have attempted to _cut_ that piece of rubble, no sir!

And yet as the two pieces of what had just been a single piece of rubble passed by himself and his Master at greed speeds, he found that he had done exactly that.

Most puzzling.

"L-Legion..." Louise said with wide eyes, also having trouble believing what she just saw happen in front of you. "Did you just-?"

"**Master, there's no time. Go!"**

"R-right!"

Taking off at a flat-out run, it wasn't long until Louise reached where Wardes was standing with his sword out as he, too faced off against Fouquet and her golem. "Louise, we need to-"

"We have to get to the ship!" she cut him off, making him blink as he looked at her. "My familiar will hold her off for now, but we have to hurry!"

He nodded. "Good idea!"

"Gramont!" Wardes shouted as they passed the boy who was huddling around a corner. "We're going to go prepare the ship, help keep the thief occupied!"

"What!?" he squawked fearfully "What do you expect me to do against _that?_" he said while pointing at the enormous golem with one hand.

"You'll think of something." the older man said encouragingly before he nodded at Louise and they both took off running at the giant tree.

"Where are you going!" Fouquet shouted as she saw her targets splitting up. She reached down with her golem to throw yet another piece of rubble at them only to find that much to her surprise, that particular hand was suddenly lacking fingers.

"You seem to be mistaken as to who your opponent is." Legion stated indifferently from the rooftop he was now standing right next to the golem, Derflinger in hand. "In the future I'd suggest you focus more on your immediate surroundings."

"Oh, you think you're clever don't you?" she sneered at him as she reformed the golem's hand with a bit of willpower before raising it in preparation to smash him and the building he was on. "Take this!"

* * *

"I can't believe this. I can't believe this." Guiche muttered fearfully as he watched de la Vallière's familiar fight off an opponent more than ten times his own size. "What am I supposed to do, have my Valkyries attack its legs?"

He let out a small shriek as a large rock smashed into the ground not far from where he was hiding.

"I can't stay here!" he shouted, more to himself than anyone else as he took off running through the streets.

Eventually he found a spot that seemed like it would be safer for him and beginning to calm down, it allowed him to start thinking of ways to handle the problem. Regardless of how vain and foolish he sometimes were, Guiche de Gramont wasn't actually a stupid person and he had been trained in the art of warfare since he was a boy.

But just as with everything else, things don't always work when you need them to.

"Come on, Guiche!" he hissed at himself as he slammed his head against one of the stone walls of the city. "Think!"

With his forehead resting against the cool stone and his eyes closed, he wracked his brain for any kind of ideas to aid with the problem.

"La Rochelle is a port city." he muttered "So there must be storage districts to handle all the wares coming in and out of the city. It has a lot of trade going on with Albion and there's a war going on there right now, which means that somewhere there must be stores of..."

His eyes snapped open, a wide grin stretching across his face. "Gunpowder!"

* * *

It had taken some convincing from Wardes in order to make the captain of the ship where he had rented passage to agree to take them earlier than planned, but some gold and a few threats straightened that out rather quick.

Fouquet had tried several times to stop them but Legion had remained right on her trail the entire time forcing her to split her attention between stopping them and avoiding his attacks. Derflinger had told him that he had been specifically forged to counter magic and he had used that to great effect, lopping off pieces of the golem forcing her to re-form them every time.

"Just DIE already!" she hissed furiously as the annoying boy dodged yet another one of her attempts to crush him.

"I will not comply." Legion responded as he leapt over the blow and landing on the arm of the golem, raced up it to strike at its head.

The earth mage had long since slipped inside her golem for protection and he kept trying to strike her through its shell, but hadn't managed to just yet. Slicing the head almost completely off with a single blow, he leapt back to avoid the retaliation that came in form of sharp spears of rock growing out of the constructs skin. He was just about to attack again when Louise contacted him through their shared connection.

"_Legion! The ship is ready to take off now! Where are you?"_

"**I am on my way."**

Landing on yet another rooftop, he turned and began sprinting off towards where the ship was moored.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" Fouquet roared as she tried to give chase, only for a number of bronze golems to leap off several other roofs to cling to her golem.

"Stop right there, evildoer!" Guiche shouted as he appeared on the street right in front of her, flanked by a couple more of his Valkyries. "I, Guiche de Gramont, will not allow you to advance any further!"

She looked at him for a few moments before she started laughing. "Ha! And what are you going to do against me, boy?" she taunted him "Smother me with numbers?"

"Oh, no." he laughed "I was thinking something a bit more… spectacular."

The thief blinked "What is that even supposed to-"

**BOOM!**

She was cut off as one of the golems violently exploded as the lit fuse to the powder keg hidden within its hollow bronze body finally reached the black powder within. The force of the explosion took out a good chunk of the golem's arm and it wasn't long until the next one went off, removing most of its left leg below the knee.

Guiche briefly met Legion's eye across the rooftops and nodded once to the synthetic before pointing his wand at the struggling golem. "Bomb Valkyries, forward!"

As he ran and jumped to reach the branch where the ship was moored, Legion couldn't help but feel impressed at the boy's resourcefulness and resolved to commend him for it later. As he approached the ship, he frowned when he saw that it had already begun to take off and was steadily moving further and further away.

"_Hurry, Legion!"_ Louise's voice came urgently in his mind.

He was practically a blur as he ran the final stretch towards the ship and coiling his legs beneath him, pushed off with such force that he broke several of the planks that made up the dock. Shooting upwards like a bullet, the airship quickly grew in his vision until he could clearly see his Master standing by the railing, reaching out as if to catch him. He was almost there.

Louise grinned happily as she saw him leap up towards her, but just moments before his hand closed on the railing she was standing by, disaster struck in the form of a sudden gust of wind that buffeted the ship. Time seemed to slow as she saw his hand come up to grasp the railing and then just barely miss it. Armored fingers tearing long grooves in the wood as the weight of his mechanical body pulled him down.

He frowned as he felt gravity reassert itself on him and he saw the pure anguish on Louise's face as he fell.

This wasn't good. He could not protect her if he wasn't present, so he did the next best thing he could.

Shrugging off the heavy backpack of food and equipment he carried, he let it slide out along one arm before grabbing it. The displacement of weight sent him into a spinning motion and with a perfectly timed, mighty heave, he sent the backpack flying up towards the ship.

Even if he could not be there with her, he could at least make sure she had the equipment he made for her.

"Legion!" Louise shouted as she saw him begin to fall, leaning out to try follow his path to the ground she let out a surprised shriek as the backpack whizzed by her face to land on the deck with a loud wham.

"**I'm sorry, Master. I could not reach you in time."**

"Legion you stupid familiar!" she cried "Get over here this instant!"

"**I cannot, such a thing is currently beyond my ability to achieve. Do not worry Master, I will send -ome-ing to h-lp you as so-n as poss-bl-."**

Louise frowned, the voice of her familiar suddenly sounding hazy and unclear to her. "Say again? Legion I'm having trouble hearing you."

"**Ma-r. Mas-, ca- -ou -ar m-?"**

"Legion? What's wrong? Legion?" Louise's eyes widened in alarm, tears filling them as she received no response.

"LEGION!"

* * *

"**Master, can you hear me? Come in, Master!"**

Legion frowned as he found himself unable to contact his master, which was odd but not completely unexpected. He had theorized for some time now that their connection was not completely universal and at this point, she _was_ further away from him than she had ever been before.

Although the timing of it was... highly suspect.

But he could do no more at the moment and it was with some sense of loss he watched the ship carrying his Master travel further and further away from him.

Please be alright, my Master. I will come for you, never fear.

Turning away from the ship, he focused his attention down at the ground where even now the thief Fouquet was trying to kill the Gramont boy. Time seemed to slow down as he reviewed his options, several lines of text scrolling in front of his vision.

**Odds of [subject]: "Fouquet" having information regarding the situations surrounding the assault on the hotel: High**

**Odds of [subject]: "Fouquet" having information regarding who is targeting the Master: Very High**

**New objective received: Capture and interrogate Fouquet.**

Triggering a command to send an electric signal to the reactive memory-cloth his traveling cloak was made of, it stiffened in some areas while clinging to him in others. Spreading his arms and legs, he caught the wind in what was now essentially a wingsuit and angled his descent so that he was on a collision course with the golem below.

* * *

Having finally exhausted the blonde brat's supply of exploding golems, Matilda leered down at the boy who was currently on his back after she made the golem give him a flick of one of its fingers. She hadn't been able to stop either of the other three, but at least she could say she took out one of her targets.

"Say goodnight!" she cackled and raised the golem's arms in preparation to finally squish him like the bug he was.

The next thing she knew, her world exploded as something hard and solid hit her golem at enormous speeds. She just barely had time to harden the dirt around her into a protective shell before she was sent flying out of the golem's body and into the remains of one of the many smashed buildings around.

As she lay there, dazed and achy, her only thought was: _What the hell was that?_

The fight had sapped her of almost all her willpower and together with the shell she had to form at the end, she was basically running on empty. She thought about staying there for a while in order to rest up a bit and regain some of it, but fate had other ideas.

With a mighty crash, a pair of midnight-black hands crashed through the rubble and the dirt and grabbed hold of the front of her cloak and shirt. With a mighty wrench she found herself pulled right out of the pile and out into the air where she was met with the furious visage of the young man with the glowing, artificial eyes.

"**Fouquet of the Crumbling dirt."** the owner of the eyes rumbled in a deep, bass voice that simply did not belong coming from a human being. "**I was merciful with you once, trusting the authorities of this land to keep you secured and away from my Master. I see now that this was a mistake, and it will not be one that I shall repeat."**

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"**You **_**will**_ **tell me everything."**

She swallowed hard, her mouth dry as she found herself unable to look away from the luminous pair of eyes in front of her. "A-and if I refuse?" she croaked out.

"**That option," **he said slowly, carefully enounciating each word as he stared unblinkingly at the woman in his hands "**is no longer available to you."**

Then, he pulled his head back and headbutted her.

And Matilda de Saxe-Gotha knew no more.

* * *

Now how is poor Louise going to get out of this particular situation, hmm? Cut off from her familiar, unable to count on either of her friends or rivals to rescue her, it's looking pretty dire for her!

I had quite a bit of fun having Legion beat the crap out of Wardes, because let's face it: anyone going up against a machine that just looks like a human while trying to fight it like a human is going to have a bad time. Of course, since it wasn't a serious fight neither one of them went all-out, but still.

As for poor Matilda, what's going to happen to her? Is Legion going to kill her, experiment on her? Turn her into a cyborg? Who knows!

Well, I know of course, but that's beside the point. Moahahaha!

Ahem.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
